Millions of pounds worth of luxury vehicles have been seized by the Metropolitan Police to curb dangerous driving in central London.

Police seized 72 vehicles worth an estimated ?6m, including identical purple Lamborghinis, in a three-day operation across Hyde Park, Kensington and Chelsea.

Drivers were issued with tickets for a variety of motoring offences, including driving with no insurance, no driving licence, disqualification, false documentation and the use of fraudulent number plates.

Officers also recovered several stolen vehicles and made eight arrests for a range of offences including a man who was wanted for actual bodily harm (ABH) and criminal damage.

One car was stopped by officers over a discrepancy with the vehicle's insurance. But after routine checks, officers had enough information to arrest four people for immigration offences.

The force said uninsured driving was often linked to broader criminal activity including drink and drug driving, disqualified driving, stolen vehicles, money laundering, drug running and organised crime.

Luxury vehicles seized included Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Bentleys that were either unroadworthy or being driven illegally.

A pair of uninsured purple Lamborghinis were also seized after they were flown into the UK for their owner's summer trip.

One of the two drivers had been in the country for two hours and had been driving for 15 minutes before the car was seized, the Motor Insurers' Bureau said.

Several of the seized vehicles had been brought to the UK from abroad, with drivers using motor insurance from their home countries without verifying whether the policy provided coverage in the UK, the organisation added.

Andy Trotter, from the Motor Insurers' Bureau said: "Someone is hit by an uninsured driver every 20 minutes in the UK, someone is seriously injured by an uninsured driver every day and one person will lose their lives to an uninsured driver every week."

One driver who was stopped by police officers told BBC London: "Apparently the car came up without insurance on this registration.

"It was my mistake because I changed it two days ago.

"On DVLA it wasn't automatically swapped from the original reg number to the personalised one, and my mistake was not to call the insurance and declare the new reg with them."

Special Chief Officer James Deller, from the Met's Special Constabulary, said the operation was in response to concerns from residents and businesses that high-value vehicles were "causing a nuisance" in central and west London.

Seven men and one woman were arrested during the operation:

A 22-year-old man who was arrested for ABH and criminal damage
A 25-year-old man, who was later charged for possession of a Class B drug
A 27-year-old man was arrested for theft of a motor vehicle and released under investigation
A 23-year-old man was arrested for theft of motor vehicle, dangerous driving, failing to stop for police, no insurance, no driving licence and drug driving
Three men, aged 26, 35 and 39, and a 23-year-old woman, were arrested on suspicion of immigration offences.

Last year's operation saw ?6m worth of vehicles seized, including a McLaren, Bentley, Rolls Royce, Ferrari and Lamborghini, mostly due to a lack of insurance. (BBC)

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