• e-mail

Dozens of boy racers have caused chaos in central London as Maseratis and modified Mercedes 'performed handbrake turns and sped at 60mph' along Pall Mall in the early hours of this morning, MailOnline can reveal.

Residents' lives have been made a misery for months as 50 to 100 cars descend on Waterloo Place in Westminster every weekend so drivers can perform stunts and show off their motors, according to those living nearby.

Footage shot by one embittered local shows cars emerging from trails of smoke caused by their revving engines before speeding along Pall Mall, less than a mile from Buckingham Palace. 

Lamborghinis worth £250,000, BMW M5s costing over £100,00 and flashy Porsches make a regular appearance in central London as drivers show off their rides during car meets. 

And petrolheads last night raced their souped up Mercedes', £100,000 Maseratis and Audis along Pall Mall, keeping frustrated locals awake in the early hours of the morning.

One woman, who asked not to be named, told MailOnline 'every Monday is ruined' as the level of noise impacts her worklife. 'They assume no one lives here but we do. We’re not all rich "not in my back yard" people.'

She said drivers 'play a game' where they wait in Waterloo Place revving their engines and 'people stand on Pall Mall to film them shooting across the road'. 

Residents' lives have been made a misery for months as 50 to 100 cars descend on Waterloo Place in Westminster every weekend so drivers can perform stunts and show off their motors, according to those living nearby

Footage shot by one embittered local shows cars emerging from trails of smoke caused by their revving engines before speeding along Pall Mall, less than a mile from Buckingham Palace

The resident, a media lawyer, added: 'I had to work at 9am this morning and if I don’t work I don’t get paid. But I’m so wrecked I can hardly do anything.'

She said the drivers had congregated near her home in the early hours of the morning at weekends for the last few years but never caused as much noise as they had recently.

'Almost every weekend there’s a car gathering in Waterloo Place with between five and 100 cars and motorbikes. These cars, they’re not supercars, they’re souped up normal cars with tuned engines and parts added to their exhausts so they can shoot flames out the back.'

She said the drivers 'arrive in huge numbers making an incredible racket' and she 'almost saw one hit a bus last night'.

Up to six 999 calls were made to police after the racers arrived at Waterloo Place at 11.30pm. 

The 'booming' noise of the modified engines 'sounded like bombs going off', according to another anonymous Pall Mall resident. 

He added: 'Somebody is going to be killed. It’s not something that happens by chance. They’re doing handbrake turns and going at speed. The noise from the engines echoes off the tall buildings.

Up to six 999 calls were made to police last night after the racers arrived at Waterloo Place at 11.30pm. The 'booming' noise of the modified engines 'sounded like bombs going off', according to another anonymous Pall Mall resident

Petrolheads have taken to parading their souped up Mercedes' and £100,000 Maseratis along Pall Mall, regularly keeping frustrated locals awake in the early hours of the morning

'Then you get the ordinary traffic caught up in it, that’s what's so terrifying.'

He said it took him four minutes to get through to a 999 operator when he called the police last night, adding: 'it’s not very reassuring'. 

In one video of last night's event a police car can be seen pulling up, but a witness told MailOnline officers quickly drove away again without dispersing the drivers.

Nick W, who didn't want his full name reported, told MailOnline last night was 'diabolical'. He said there are always 'lots of cracking and banging noises'. 

'They congregate on Waterloo Place, rev their engines and create lots of smoke,' he added. 'They go down Pall Mall at probably around 60mph. A police car drove past, stopped for a minute and then passed on.'  

Nick W, who didn't want his full name reported, told MailOnline the noise was 'diabolical'. He said there are always 'lots of cracking and banging noises'

MailOnline has contacted Met Police and Westminster City Council for comment. 

It comes after hundreds of cars have fallen foul of 'noise cameras' set up in Chelsea to catch nuisance supercars that cruise the area revving their engines. 

Kensington and Chelsea Borough Council installed the cameras on September 22 and the cameras were activated more than 130 times in the first 11 days since being switched on. 

One of the cameras captured a car revving its engine at 104db, a similar noise level to a passing helicopter, while a Range Rover on Sloane Street set off a camera at just under 100db. 

Angry residents said the high-end area has become a magnet for Lamborghini and Ferrari drivers who use London's streets like a 'racetrack' - distressing residents who have to put up with the 'disruptive and irritating' sound of revving engines. 

Drivers are issued with a warning and told they will be fined a £100 fixed penalty notice at the next offence.  

Persistent offenders in extreme cases could have their vehicle seized, according to the council.

Kensington and Chelsea took action in 2018 by introducing a Public Space Protection Order and issued 163 fixed penalty notices, with local police numbers being increased on summer weekends. 

But it was not enough with 35 reports of nuisance noise in the area from engines revving between June and August last year.

The council is the first to pilot its own noise camera technology, which will take a picture and capture sound of the offending vehicle when it 'hears' over 80 decibels. 

Councillor Johnny Thalassites, lead member for transport, said the council consistently hears from residents who are blighted by the 'disruptive and irritating' noise.

He said: 'Residents have had enough of drivers using our streets as a racetrack.

'We have had fines in place for a while now, but this new noise camera technology will make sure we are catching more of the worst offenders.

'Supercars look good and most drivers are considerate but when they they're not, it is disruptive and irritating for people living and working in the area.'

Many of London's most exclusive streets become 'race tracks' for the wealthy in the summer as millionaires bring their expensive vehicles out.

The problem typically intensifies in the hotter months when wealthy people from Arabic countries flee the scorching temperatures of the Middle East and cruise around London, with rich Kuwaitis, Saudis and Emiratis seeking to out-do each other over who can own the most fancy sportscar. 

The spectacle also attracts enthusiastic car spotters to see the customised vehicles.   

The cars' owners tend to ship their machines over in the months leading up to the summer, so they are here when they arrive in July and August.

Owners fly their expensive and often highly customised vehicles over to the UK for a holiday, costing upwards of quarter of a million pounds.

Rich owners will pay a small fortune - in excess of £20,000 for a return journey - for their vehicles to be flown around 3,000 miles, and often leave them parked in some of London's most desirable spots.

Noise cameras are already in use in Canada, Singapore, Australia and the United Arab Emirates, but they are new to Britain.