POLICE have launched an investigation after a group of men posted videos on the internet of themselves racing at high speeds through Redbridge.
The short films, in which the men boast about the "crazy speed" of their cars, show them using the borough's roads as racetracks.
In one clip, a man speeds along Wanstead Park Road in Cranbrook at nearly 70mph in a 30mph zone, while his friend urges him on from the side of the road.
In another, the men race bumper-to-bumper on a busy motorway.
The police say they want to speak to officials from the website in an effort to track down the men.
Sgt Jeoff Bull, of Cranbrook Safer Neighbourhoods Team, said: "It's absolutely shocking. It's a narrow little road and I don't care what time of day it is, it's abhorrent behaviour."
Sgt Bull added: "We do have problems with speeding and the way people drive is a major bug bear around here."
YouTube, one of the most popular websites on the internet, has attracted plenty of controversy in its short three-year history with a number of criminals posting films of their exploits.
Back in February, Danny Hyde of Stowmarket was sentenced to a four-month suspended prison term after posting a video of him driving at 130mph along the A14 near Ipswich, Suffolk.
He had filmed the footage with his mobile phone, driving the car with one hand.
The website is attracting an increasing number of films from people in Wanstead and Woodford.
By far the most popular video on the site from our area is "Most T-Shirts Worn At Once", viewed by almost half a million people to date.
The clip, filmed at St Antony's Catholic Primary School in Woodford Green, features Charlie Williams in his record-breaking attempt to wear 224 T-shirts in one go.
