Chief Superintendent Terry Collins said his officers would be pouring extra efforts into combating the crime which has soared by 45 per cent in the last year.

Croydon's surge in street robbery is part of a rising crime wave throughout London. Last year, the total number of street offences in London increased by 36 per cent.

"We have got to turn the corner on street crime," said Chief Supt Collins. "At the moment we are seeing between five and six street crimes a day. We don't want any further increase on this.

"We will be targeting where it is happening and also looking at preventative strategies. One third of these offences are carried out by 14 to 18 year olds on 14 to18 year olds. This is being fuelled by things like mobile phones, expensive trainers, even Pokèmon cards - whatever the fashion is."

Although Croydon's rise in street crime is well above the Met average, total crime in the borough (11 per cent) is below the London average (12.5 per cent).

The figures are part of the Met Police's crime statistics for the financial year 1999-2000. They show that Croydon is seeing successes in the fight against burglary and drugs with both crimes decreasing.

But they also show vehicle crime on the up with 26 incidents reported every day. Police have now promised greater use of CCTV equipment, particularly in car parks.

"Although our total increase was less than the Met average, we are still concerned. We are not happy with the position and we will be tackling the problems. It's a continuing battle," said Chief Supt Collins.