More than 5,000 thefts were committed on the London Underground last year.

The figures come from Freedom of Information (FOI) request obtained by the British Transport Police, showing the figures between August 1, 2017 and July 31, 2018.

The exact figure is 5,153 – a stark contrast to the 3,800 thefts reported the year before.

The Central line reported the most thefts with 879.

This was followed by the Piccadilly line, which recorded 864, and the Victoria line which recorded 726.

The Northern line reported over 650 and both the Jubilee and District Lines reported over 500.

The Waterloo and City Line recorded the least number of incidents at five.

Saturdays are the most popular days for thefts on the Underground with thefts most likely to strike between 6 and 7pm.

The Nightube is the safest time to travel with only 8 per cent of all the thefts reported on the service.

Graham Daly, head of compliance and policing operations at TfL, said: “London’s transport network is a safe, low crime environment, where very few of the almost five million journeys made on the Tube each day involve anyone experiencing a crime.

“Our staff are on hand to help customers whenever they need assistance and work closely with the police to ensure offenders are dealt with robustly.

“We work closely with the police to reduce offences, such as theft, and make it easier for people to report any offences.

“We ask anyone who experiences or witnesses a crime to report it as quickly as possible, so offenders can be brought to justice.”