ARMED moped gangs ran riot as a driver was ambushed by riders wielding a hammer, it is claimed.

In the latest incident, a driver was surrounded by three moped riders in Sutton Road, between Southend and Rochford, at roughly 3am on Tuesday.

The riders surrounded the car, driving erratically and attempted to force the driver to pull over – while one armed with a hammer pulled alongside the driver’s side of the car.

The driver was able to flee the scene uninjured, and the car was not damaged.

Last month saw a taxi driver was terrorised by an armed moped gang wielding a hammer in Shoebury.

AC Taxis driver Shamim Alom, 45, was targeted by two moped riders at the end of July, who followed him and used a hammer to smash his rear windscreen and rear passenger window.

Following the latest incident a comment on social media stated: “My partner was driving down Sutton Road at approximately 3am when three men / boys, two on mopeds and one on a larger bike tried to box his car in, one at the front, one at the driver side and one at the back.

“The one at the side was shouting at my partner to stop the car. The one in the front braked sharply, while the one at the back was close to the car.”

One of them had a hammer.

The post added: “Luckily my partner has a quick BMW and dropped it down a gear and managed to get out.

“We called 101 when he got home so police have been notified.

“Please be careful when driving at night. There were no number plates on any of the bikes.”

Police confirmed they are investigating the incident, and urged anyone with information to get in contact.

Fears have been raised about a number of other incidents by moped gangs in the area.

Adam Pipe, head of roads policing at Essex Police, said: “We’ve had a small number of offences involving mopeds reported to us across Essex in recent months, but I want to stress this type of incident remains rare here.

“I appreciate the concern that incidents like this can cause and officers from my roads policing teams, along with other forces, are working to expand our strategies as they continue to assess how we handle these new and evolving types of crimes going forward.

“I continue to encourage the people of Essex to report any crime they are aware of on 101 and to call 999 in an emergency.” Anyone with information in relation to the Sutton Road incident, should contact police on 101 reference 115 of 22/08.