A Brent boy who used stolen mopeds to snatch mobile phones while armed with a knife has been jailed for 14 months.

The boy committed 16 crimes in Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea when he was 15-years-old.

The young teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, regularly armed himself with a knife when he went to snatch the mobile phones, a court heard.

The 16-year-old had previously pleaded guilty to 16 offences and admitted another 11 offences including three counts of possessing a knife, aggravated vehicle taking and traffic offences.

On April 24 he mounted the pavement in Vincent Street, rode into a man and stole his phone.

Later that day he stole a man's phone in Chepstow Villas and a woman's phone in Hyde Park Gardens, dropping his knife in the process.

He attempted another theft that same day on Ledbury Road but failed to steal the victim's phone.

Hyde Park Square, where the teenage thief pulled a knife on a man who's phone he had attempted to steal

Another bungled attempt was made to steal a 40-year-old man's phone in Hyde Park Square on April 27 by mounting the pavement in a Honda scooter he stole earlier that day in Brent.

The pair argued and the teenager brandished his knife before fleeing the scene.

The man managed to take a picture of his attempted thief on his phone and despite the teen having a helmet on, police were able to arrest him the following day.

When Westminster Crime Squad officers went to his address they found a key to a lock on the stolen Honda and the clothes he was wearing in the picture taken the day before.

PC Daisy Mather from the Metropolitan Police, said: "This youth was responsible for a large number of snatches while armed with a knife.

"I am delighted we have been able to take him off the streets as I have no doubt he would have continued his spree had he not been caught.

"I am grateful for the bravery of the victim who clung onto his phone and managed to get an image of the youth which was crucial evidence in helping us identify him.

"Our work to tackle ‘moped-enabled’ robberies continues and we are committed to reducing these types of offences."

The youth, from the NW2 area and aged 15 at the time of his offences, was sentenced on Wednesday, 12 July at Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court to 14 months' youth detention having previously pleaded guilty to 16 offences.

Keep up to date with the latest news in west London via the free getwestlondon app.

You can set up your app to see all the latest news and events from your area, plus receive push notifications for breaking news.

Available to download from the App Store or Google Play for Android .