Cyclists in south east London are being warned not to go out alone after a spate of attacks by moped riders.

Since April there have been a series of attacks reported on cycling group forums, with moped riders attempting to steal cyclists’ bikes.

As well as reports of attempted robberies, there have also been reports of stabbing threats and other alleged threats of violence towards cyclists.

Stephen Crispin, a committee member of Penge Cycle Club, said: “There’s been several attacks reported and it seems to be becoming more and more of a problem.

“People on their own are being targeted so we’re advising people not to go out on their own and I’m not going to either.

“A lot of the time it’s women on their own being targeted.

“I think the main concern is that these attacks are happening over a lot of different county borders – some happen in the Surrey Police area, some in the Met Police area, and some in the Kent Police area.

“We want them to realise that these aren’t isolated incidents in their area, the police need to work together and see it as the spate of attacks it is.”

Attacks have been reported in Orpington, Dulwich, Penge and other areas across south east London, Kent and Surrey.

British Cycling, the sports body who govern most cycle sport in the UK, are urging cyclists to only go out in groups.

They have said they are working with both TfL and the police to try and put an end to these criminal acts.

Nick Chamberlain, British Cycling’s policy manager, said: “We are deeply concerned to have heard from members about another spate of violent attacks on people cycling in London and the South East in recent weeks, including this past weekend.

“It primarily seems to be lone recreational road cyclists that are being targeted, with mopeds and electric scooters increasingly used to knock the cyclist off their bike.

“We have heard from lots of clubs and individuals who are rightly very concerned about going out for a ride.

“It is extremely hard to discuss these sorts of issues without causing panic and the last thing any of us would wish is to deter people from cycling this summer through a fear of being attacked.

“The sad reality however is that when these spikes in violent crime occur, and while we try to understand the pattern of incidents better, it is prudent for individuals, clubs and groups to discuss these concerns together and think carefully about the rides they have planned.

“Since being alerted to this latest spate of incidents we have raised the issue once more with the relevant police forces and Transport for London to highlight known flashpoints and urge them to take swift action to protect and reassure local riders.”

Have you got a story for us? You can contact us here.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep up with all the latest news.

Sign up to our newsletters to get updates sent straight to your inbox.