Team of brazen pickpockets filmed stealing from tourists near London's Piccadilly Circus

Shocking footage reveals a trio of pickpockets operating in a popular tourist hotspot in London on Saturday night (March 30).

The audacious threesome can be seen working as a team while one man reaches into the bags of a tourist walking in front while they cross the road near world-famous London landmark Piccadilly Circus.

In the video, two men are walking behind the main pickpocket, who is wearing a white trilby hat, apparently in an attempt to protect him from being seen by witnesses. Nonetheless, the witness - a London resident - manages to film the man in the trilby going to reach inside the victim's bag.

After being confronted by the filmer at the station entrance, their shock is caught on camera. But events quickly turn even more sinister as they push the filmer's camera away. The filmer was uninjured.

The filmer said: “You can clearly see how professionally they are stealing from people's bag.”

"I was scared they may have a knife but I had to capture it to raise awareness."

The filmer had witnessed the men carry out the act earlier in the evening, which prompted him to start filming. He said the men were speaking amongst themselves in a foreign language but could not be sure where they were from.

The filmer told Newsflare that he mentioned the incident to a police officer in the vicinity, who told him to go to the local Charing Cross police station to file a report. However, that police station was closed at the time. He was able to report the incident the following day.

London's Metropolitan Police has previously issued advice on pickpockets. They say: "Pickpockets don’t always operate alone, they may work in teams to distract the target while someone unseen removes the items and blends back into the crowd. Another member might step in as an enforcer in the event of an altercation."