Police officer gets escorted drive around Mayfair after Met seizes rare Ferrari

A Met crackdown on antisocial drivers in central London led to a police officer getting the opportunity to take a £3.7 million Ferrari for a spin around Mayfair.

Supercars worth more than £8m were taken off the streets around Hyde Park by the police over the weekend.

While many of them were loaded on to the back of a flatbed truck for their journey to the police pound, one officer wasn’t letting his chance slip to get behind the wheel of a particularly rare model.

Only 499 Ferrari Monza SP2s have been made by the Italian supercar brand, with one selling for $4,995,000 (£3.7m) earlier this year.

The officer was filmed slipping on a pair of sunglasses as he drove the sleek black vehicle – which had only been in the UK for a day – past Marble Arch.

Its owner appears to have thought he could get away with driving on a provisional insurance and without insurance.

He was less than half an hour into his drive when nabbed by the Met.

The Ferrari was one of 90 vehicles seized by the police between Friday and Sunday in the latest phase of a five-year operation.

Special Chief Inspector Geoff Tatman, who led the operation, said: ‘We regularly hear from local people who are fed up with people driving cars dangerously in the area, or with modifications which make them a nuisance to those who live nearby.

‘Through operations like this we’re arresting these drivers and seizing their cars so we can keep our roads safe and send clear message that we won’t put up with their reckless and dangerous behavior.’

The operation also allowed officers to take advantage of new police powers to immediately take cars away from drivers who are using them for antisocial behavior.

Officers are no longer limited to giving them a warning, meaning anyone caught annoying or alarming the public with their driving can lose their vehicle straight away.

The Met said 15 cars were seized under that legislation last weekend alone.