London Underground thefts up by 80 per cent over last three years

The Piccadilly line was part suspended during the disruption (Picture: Twitter/@markommj)

The number of reported thefts on the London Underground has shot up by more than 80 per cent in the past three years.

Some 6,825 reports were received by British Transport Police in 2018/19, compared with 3,730 in 2016/17.

The Piccadilly and Central lines saw the most thefts. The figures, released to BBC London, included bag thefts and pickpocketing.

Det Insp Bob Stokoe, head of theft of passenger property at BTP, said: “I don’t think we can deny that it is incredibly disappointing that the numbers have gone up but the London Underground is still an incredibly safe environment.

“There are in excess of five million passenger journeys a day so it’s four crimes of theft for every million journeys.”