Surrey Police has apologised after failing to respond to a 999 call reporting an armed robbery at 2am in Worcester Park.

Three men reportedly arrived at Elmstead Gardens at 2am on Tuesday May 23 on a motorbike. They were using a circular saw to break the lock of the neighbour's motorcycle when neighbours approached them.

Tenants of Elmstead Gardens said they were threatened and "chased into their homes" by men wearing crash helmets and balaclavas carrying bolt cutters and a saw.

One resident said they had been woken up by "the sound of their neighbours screams".

They said: "I feel like I'm living in Gotham City."

Another neighbour, who did not want to be named, said: "I was in bed and I heard this motorcycle, it was a murmur and it kept going. I thought it must be our neighbour as they have a motorbike. But then I saw the saw, there were sparks flying and it was really noisy.

"I couldn't see much as it was pitch black and we don't have any street lighting."

The noise alerted other neighbours, who went out to confront the men, but said they were chased back into their homes. They say they were threatened with tools such as bolt cutters, a spanner, and a circular saw.

The neighbour said: "I called 999 and got put through to the Metropolitan Police but they said this was more of a Surrey matter."

The call was re-routed to Surrey Police, but police failed to arrive. At least four neighbours called the police, it has been alleged. The neighbour said the men ran the stolen motorcycle down the road.

They said: "We were all shaking by this point, but no-one got back to me. I do not feel safe, we are feeling really vulnerable. People have had break-ins and burglaries but nothing like this, not to this extent.

"We are wanting that reassurance from the police, these guys are out there and are going to do it again."

The neighbour said their daughter has been so frightened since the incident she did not want to walk to school alone.

Epsom & Ewell Neighbourhood Inspector Jackie Elkins said: “We would like to apologise for the poor service the victim and other residents of Elmstead Gardens received from Surrey Police. The initial call to us was incorrectly graded and we should have sent a unit to the scene.

“The issue has now been raised with senior managers in our Contact Centre who will be reviewing the call and the decision making process to establish what went wrong and how we can prevent this from happening again.

“With regards to the investigation, we can confirm that we have been in contact with the victim and other witnesses to take statements. We have also conducted house to house and CCTV enquiries in the area and have carried out national checks to locate the motorbike.”

Anyone who has information about the theft should call Surrey Police on 101 quoting reference 45170053492.0+