Tourists in Rome are being targeted in a street crime wave, with muggings and pickpocketing doubling in a year.

Restaurateurs and bar owners in the Eternal City say their clients are being besieged by gangs of thieves and bag snatchers.

They fear robberies will increase as more visitors arrive next year for the Vatican Jubilee, a rare event in the Catholic church which will bring pilgrims to the Italian capital.

“The [crime] rate has doubled since last year,” said Claudio Pica, who heads Fiepet Confesercenti, an association representing 3,500 restaurants, cafes and pizzerias.

“Now we are receiving between 80 and 100 reports a day of muggings, thefts and pickpocketing in the bars and restaurants of central Rome.’’