People living in an exclusive part of London, a stone's throw from Buckingham Palace, are being visited every night by a threat that they say is making their lives miserable.
Typically St James is one of the most exclusive postcodes in the UK, with the average house price last year being over £3.3m.
But every Sunday around midnight, Waterloo Place becomes "dangerous." So-called boy racers come down in the middle of the night to rev their engines and perform stunts.
According to residents, car enthusiasts spend hours baking donuts, revving their "tuned-up engines" and making noise "so loud it sounds like an explosion."
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People living in the area say their lives have been made hell - they have trouble sleeping and are stressed by driving, which they say is "an accident waiting to happen". Others, who have filmed the encounters so they can report them to the police, have been "intimidated" by the organisers, they claim.
Residents say drivers "know what they are doing is illegal" as they black out their car number plates and often wear hoods and balaclavas. And now locals are campaigning in the hope of restoring funding to road policing teams so something can be done before "someone gets seriously hurt".
Anne Mannion, who has lived in the West End for almost 40 years, said: "I've lived in central London for a number of years, near the theatre, near nightclubs, near busy roads. I know noise. I'm used to it. You expect it - and you deal with it to have the privilege of living in these places."
"But this? This is a whole other level. It's absolutely incredible. When it first started, I thought there were explosions. That's what it sounds like. My bed is shaking. It feels like a plane taking off. I mean - there are hundreds of supercars and also cars with 'tuned' engines."
"It's just horrible. There are all kinds of people living in this building. Elderly people, families with children, professionals who have to get up early in the morning. It has to stop. It drives people away. My daughter moved out because she just couldn't handle it anymore."
Ms Mannion, a media lawyer, said the car rallies began during lockdown when there was no one on the roads and have continued almost every weekend since, including bank holidays and even Christmas Day.
"They have no respect for people's lives - or their right to a day off," Ms Mannion said. "They have no respect for the roads either. They drive dangerously - they do doughnuts and things like that. And they block all the traffic from Trafalgar Square - how about ambulances?"
"At one of the recent meetings, fireworks were even set off."
Mrs Mannion used to leave her house and go down to film the car races - and send the footage to the Met Police and Westminster Council. Drivers could then be fined for dangerous driving - and for breaching a Public Space Protection Order in place in the area.
However, she has now become afraid to do so due to the "intimidating" behaviour of the organisers. The mother, who is in her late 50s, said: "It is too dangerous for me to film them now because they recognise me. Apart from the fact that the cars are dangerous, the men come up to me when I go there.
"They ask me why I'm filming. They laugh at me. They've posted videos of me on TikTok. It's intimidating. I do feel in danger. But they know what they're doing is illegal. They cover their license plates. They think they're being smart."
Sanzhar Abishev, another local resident, is also concerned about the encounters - which he says pose a danger to the community. The 31-year-old said: "They drive very recklessly. They do donuts at high speed. They burn out and their engines overheat. There is a danger of them exploding.
"They block entire lanes of traffic, so ambulances can't get through. And they get out of control near hundreds of spectators. It's an accident waiting to happen. When the police arrive, they run down the sidewalk. Last time, someone got hit. Luckily, it wasn't serious, but it could have been. Something has to be done before someone gets really seriously hurt."
Mr Abishev, a local businessman, said the meetings were "very well planned".
He said: "They're not done lightly. They can happen at any weekend. They usually start late, but sometimes as early as 4pm or 5pm - and can go on until after 2am or 3am. In the past, the local police officers were incredibly helpful. They would throw spikes down and block off the area. Drivers would get caught and get fines."
"Although many drivers remove their license plates - which is of course an offense in itself. Now local residents and businesses need to spend their time helping - by forming their own neighborhood watch groups and doing their own detective work."
"It has to stop. Both for the residents - for whom this is hugely destructive and disruptive - and for London. "It is not a good reflection of our capital when tourists see people driving dangerously."
Ms Mannion added: "The police were incredible when they were able to help. We need them to show these racers that they can't do this anymore."
Earlier this month, four drivers were fined after they were caught on camera performing burnouts and revving their engines during such a late-night car gathering. Among the cars found guilty were a highly-tuned BMW coupe and a Mercedes C63 AMG worth almost £100,000, Westminster City Council (WCC) said.
The drivers were caught after they triggered acoustic sound cameras. Installed in 2021, the cameras are activated when they detect events above 80-90 decibels - which is as loud as standing next to a passing London Underground train.
The camera then uses AI to distinguish the sound of an engine from a typical horn by monitoring the sound patterns. Cllr Aicha Less, deputy leader and cabinet member for children and public protection at Westminster City Council, said of the car rallies: "Driving like this is not only undesirable in Westminster, it's incredibly dangerous."
"We often see an increase in this behaviour in the summer, but we continue to work throughout the year to prevent it. We have a zero tolerance policy for antisocial driving, so I am pleased with the latest round of fines and hope that by working with our partners we can identify others."
"If you want to encounter these kinds of cars, our streets are not the right place for that."
The Met Police were also asked for comment.
