Police and local authorities are waging war on illegal peddlers on Tower Bridge.

Licensing officers from Tower Hamlets are working with the City Corporation and Southwark Council at the other end of the bridge.

Their joint clampdown on pickpockets, gamblers and unlicensed street peddlers has already resulted in the seizure of 24 carts from peanut, hotdog and ice cream vendors on five Thames bridges including Tower Bridge.

They have issued 365 warnings and made 18 prosecutions, with 12 dealers slapped with a total of £6,000 in penalties.

“The unlawful street trading has been all but eliminated,” City Corporation’s environment chairman Keith Bottomley said. “This enforcement is disrupting criminals and protecting the public from unhygienic food.”

Officers also disrupted 325 illegal gambling operations and caught 235 pickpockets.

Both Tower Hamlets and Southwark have given enforcement authority to the City Corporation at both ends of the bridge.