A gang of motorbike thieves fired bullets into a teenager’s bedroom window in south-west London after failing to steal a scooter from his family’s front garden, a victim has said

       The attack, which happened in Linden Road, Hampton, followed a series of bike and motorbike thefts by gangs on scooters targeting residential homes.

       Two youths appeared to have attempted to steal a motor scooter parked outside a terraced house in the early hours of Thursday morning.

       The homeowner said that, having failed to disarm the lock on the scooter, the gang fired through a ground-floor window in apparent frustration. The bullets missed his 17-year-old son, who was sleeping in the room.

       “It was terrifying,” the homeowner, who asked not to be named, told The Telegraph. “It was sheer malicious, vindictive behaviour. It looks like they fired through the window in anger at not being able to steal our scooter, which was locked outside.”

       He said the street and others nearby had been plagued by gangs of youths on mopeds attempting to steal bicycles, motorbikes and scooters, often left overnight in residents’ front gardens.

       On several occasions, the gangs appear to have used angle grinders to remove heavy locks used to secure motorbikes.

       The homeowner said: “They repeatedly target this street and others. You can see them on doorbell footage riding up and down looking for bikes and scooters to steal.

       “This time it looked like they couldn’t disable our scooter lock, which is when they began shooting. You can see two bullet holes in our front window.

       “The bullets went across the room where my 17-year-old son was sleeping and hit the wall opposite. God knows what might have happened. These people have no consideration for anyone but themselves.”

       Forensics officers could be seen on Thursday morning searching for fragments of bullet casings, along with any paintwork from the gang’s scooters that could lead to them being traced.

       The street, popular with young families and retirees, is decorated with Halloween pumpkins and window decorations, ready for trick-or-treating by local children this evening.

       One female neighbour said: “I can’t imagine many parents will let their children out tonight. It’s horrendous.

       “They were riding around in broad daylight on Tuesday, obviously trying to spot anything worth coming back for to steal at night. But with guns? It doesn’t bear thinking about.

       “That boy is so lucky because the shots were fired quite low through the window.”

       The road, close to Hampton Station and a short drive from Hampton Court Palace, remained sealed off.

       The Metropolitan Police said its officers were pursuing all lines of inquiry and trying to establish whether the incident was linked to previous thefts in the area.

       One resident said she had recently rushed downstairs to confront a gang trying to steal her motorbike outside her home.

       The 32-year-old said: “We live a couple of streets away and there’s been a spate of these gangs driving around on mopeds trying to steal motorbikes from outside people’s homes. They’re always circling the streets to suss out what they can steal.

       “I heard them one night and me and my boyfriend ran out and chased them away. We won’t be doing that now that we know they’re armed. It’s so scary to think about what happened.”

       A force spokesman said on Thursday: “A number of shots had been fired on Linden Road. A vehicle and a residential property were found to have sustained damage. There are no signs of any injured parties or suspects at the scene and have been no arrests at this early stage. An investigation is underway.

       “Anyone with information that can help police should call 101 ref CAD 606/31OCT.”