Two teenagers have been jailed after a spate of more than thirty moped-related robberies across three London boroughs.

John Smith, 16, of Romford Road, E7 and Shemar Williams, 16, of Chestnut Avenue, E7 were sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Friday, April 29.

The pair had carried out a series of 34 robberies across Waltham Forest, Newham and Tower Hamlets over a two-week period in October and November 2015.

The victims were either riders of mopeds who were robbed of their bikes, or women whose bags were forcibly taken after the pair had ridden behind them.

All but two of the robberies taken into account were carried out at night and often a weapon, such as a hammer or a knife, was used during the crimes.

Violence was used against the victims, and one man was hospitalised after being robbed of his moped. He has since been discharged.

Smith was sentenced to five years' imprisonment with a further two years on licence when released.

Williams was sentenced to three-and-a-half years' imprisonment and was further sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment consecutively for two separate knife-point robberies.

Both had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to rob at an earlier hearing at Snaresbrook Crown Court.

DSI Raffaele D'Orsi, lead on Operation Venice, the Met's response to moped enabled crime, said: "I want to commend my colleagues from the borough who secured this successful conviction.

"Their work in this case has led to two dangerous individuals being taken off the streets; ultimately stopping them from committing more offences and causing serious injury to potential victims.

"This is a great example of how Operation Venice is committed to bringing offenders to justice and keeping London's streets safe."