14 people have been arrested and 17 stolen vehicles recovered in a huge 60-officer operation after a rise in motor vehicle crime in south east London.

Known as Operation Huntsman, a cross-border operation involving Met Police and Kent Police officers used Automated Number Plate Recognition technology to track down offenders.

A total of 15 vehicles were also seized and 16 traffic offences reported during the operation.

The arrests were made for suspected offences including robbery, theft of a motor vehicle, possession with intent to supply class A drugs, dangerous driving and failing to stop for police.

Among the stolen vehicles recovered were a BMW, a Jaguar and a delivery van containing parcels.

Several weapons were found including knives, a baseball bat and a stun gun.

The operation built on the work of a new motor vehicle crime unit set up by the Met's south east command a year ago.

This followed concerns raised by people living in Bexley, Greenwich and Lewisham around motor vehicle crime - with more than half of local ward panels choosing this as a priority issue to tackle.

The area has seen a rise in offences, particularly high value keyless car thefts and catalytic converter thefts.

Last year, there were 2,608 vehicle thefts in Bexley, Greenwich and Lewisham.

In the first nine months of this year, almost 300 of one make of vehicle alone were stolen from Greenwich, Lewisham and Bromley, and Dartford and Sevenoaks in Kent.

Of 4,606 offences of theft from a vehicle, 18 per cent were of catalytic converters.

Many of these have been violent offences with gangs arming themselves with baseball bats, iron bars, machetes and more recently BB guns.

As well as stealing cars to sell on, either complete or for parts, offenders also use the vehicles to commit other crimes.

Officers have spent the last year gathering information about individuals and organised crime gangs and carrying out a range of operations.

These have concentrated on violent criminals using the road network and motor vehicle thieves who cross the Met/Kent border to commit offences.

Successes include in February the recovery of a pistol, silencer and 11 rounds of ammunition linked to the theft of a high value car in Bexley.

Chief Inspector Russ Joao, from South East Command Unit, said: “We’ve really listened to what local people have been telling us they are concerned about.

"The rise in motor vehicle crime has had a big impact on the lives of many of our residents and we’ve taken significant action over the last 12 months to tackle this issue.

“Alongside our new proactive unit working day in and day out, Operation Huntsman allowed us to work with colleagues in Kent Police to actively target offenders with some great results.

“Our work does not stop here and there will be more operations in the future as well as crime prevention initiatives, such as catalytic converter marking events, to help people avoid becoming a victim of this type of offence.”

The operation on 28 and 29 September involved officers from Met local policing teams, the Roads and Transport Policing Command, the Violence Suppression Unit, ANPR Interceptor teams, the National Police Air Service and Kent’s Swanley Community Policing Team.

Also invited to see the operation were the chairs of Sidcup and St Mary and St James ward panels so they could let their local communities know the action being taken to tackle the issue.

The operation focused on the areas south of the A2 to north of the A20 and the A2 Bexley Village North through Crayford and up to Slade Green and Erith.

Of those arrested, two have been charged with more minor offences and the remainder released under investigation or bailed while enquiries continue.

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.