A BID to cut crime on buses has been launched by police.

Operation Seneca, which is aimed at tackling any criminal activity on buses, will see uniformed and plain-clothed officers patrolling various routes.

If the scheme works, it may be extended to Waltham Forest.

It follows a spate of incidents on route W13, which travels from Walthamstow into the Woodford area.

Police say there has been an increase in robberies of mobile phones and other attacks on that particular route and similiar incidents on others.

On Friday, officers boarded the W13 in Walthamstow to launch the operation and act as a deterrent to would-be criminals.

So far, the operation has seen five arrests.

Superintendent Ian Southcott said: It's good to see that we have made arrests already and that the operation is working towards its aim.

Officers will be patrolling the buses as and when we think it's needed.

"Hopefully that will act as a deterrent and anyone thinking of committing a crime will think again.

Mr Southcott said the problems started when schools returned to class in September.

He said: Many of the victims are schoolchildren suffering thefts of mobile phones and that kind of thing. By carrying out this operation we hope to tackle these incidents and stop them.

We want to reassure passengers, especially young people, that we are aware of what is going on and doing something about it.

Officers will be put on different bus routes at a variety of times, monitoring the situations on a regular basis.

Mr Southcott said: Hopefully this operation will reassure passengers and make them feel safer when travelling on the bus.