A council has suspended its contract with an enforcement firm after two of its officers were caught making disturbing threats to beat up a man and rip out his teeth.

The two 'thugs in uniform', named as Joseph Fernandes, 38, and Umar Siddiq, 30, were filmed telling a member of the public 'I'm going to knock you the f*** out and rip your teeth out' after they intervened in support of a terrified teenager.

The pair, who had tried to fine the teenager £100 for spitting, were sacked after the footage emerged.

But it was later revealed the men had been acting 'like gangsters' for weeks, with Harrow residents telling how they used intimidatory tactics to coerce members of the public into paying fines for supposed civil offences.

They were accused of snapping off one motorist's car key in the ignition to prevent him from driving away and leaving a vulnerable elderly woman in tears by falsely accusing her of dropping litter - before threatening to call the police if she didn't pay £100.

Harrow Council has now suspended all operations with Kingdom Services Group - which employed the men - until they are given 'clear guarantees' that the borough's 'high standards' can be met. 

In a statement released on Wednesday evening, council leader Paul Osborn said: 'Following concerns relating to officer conduct, we have suspended all Kingdom operations in Harrow with immediate effect.  

'We have also reported Kingdom's enforcement officers to the police. 

'We have called for clear guarantees from Kingdom's senior management that any activities carried out on behalf of the council meet the high standards we expect. 

'Everyone wants a clean and safe borough, and enforcement plays an important role in helping us restore pride in Harrow — but enforcement must also be professional and proportionate. Until we are confident that these standards can be upheld, Kingdom's operations in Harrow will remain suspended.'

Deepak Shukla, professional legal advisor for Pearl Lemon Legal, said the move will likely make other councils rethink their own contracts with external enforcement firms.

'Many councils will [now] take a second look at their enforcement practices,' he said.

'Even if they do not have issues with their current contractors, things such as this usually cause councils to evaluate their practices. They may undertake independent assessments or audits to ensure compliance with the necessary standards.

'Councils cannot fully distance themselves from the behaviour of enforcement officers they hire on their behalf. It may be asked whether proper oversight measures have been put in place by councils and whether adequate safeguards exist in light of any concerns.'

The initial confrontation between Fernandes and Siddiq and a member of the public, who gave his name as Alvin, came after he intervened when he spotted the couple pressuring a distressed teenage girl.

The pair had claimed she had spat on the pavement ahead of the altercation close to South Harrow tube station on May 18. 

Alvin told the Daily Mail he stepped in and advised the girl that she did not have to pay a fine for spitting if there was no evidence that it had happened and she should keep on walking.

That intervention prompted the angry reaction from the enforcement officers as Fernandes and Siddiq then turned on him.

In the footage - filmed on a secret camera embedded in his Meta sunglasses - both men, who worked for Kingdom Services Group can be seen acting aggressively towards Alvin.

Fernandes is seen saying: 'Come to the alleyway right now, we're going to show you what time it is. We're going to show you what time it is, bruv. 

'We're going to make sure you can't work no more and earn no money because you're trying to butt in with our money – and bruv, do you know what I do to people like that? Come here now. Let's go.'

Standing in a bus lane, the officer appeared to try and turn off his body-worn camera before signalling for Alvin to cross the road, saying: 'I swear, when I'm not in uniform, I'm going to knock you the f*** out and rip your teeth out. Do you know that? If I give you one punch, I'll knock all your teeth out.'

Siddiq, wearing a black hoodie, told him: 'Don't butt in my business. We've got people to feed.'

He added: 'If I call a police officer for you, he'll f*** you up, you know, because we work with them and you didn't know that, did you? So come across the road now because I'm going to show you what time it is.'

When asked to give his account of what happened, Siddiq said: 'The video online was taken out of context. There's more to it than what people have seen.'

Both men were employed directly by Kingdom Services Group, a firm contracted by several large corporations and local authorities, including healthcare provider Bupa, the NHS, Harrow and Haringey Councils and Tesco.

They worked all over Harrow but took particular interest in the Northolt Road, where they were said to lurk in alleyways to spy on members of the public.

Residents claimed they frequently targeted members of the local Sri Lankan and Indian communities with numerous fixed penalty notices.

Kingdom is headed by multi-millionaire Terry Barton, founder and chief executive of the group. 

The former police officer, 71, employs 11,500 people at his firm, which has a £300 million annual turnover.

A spokesperson for Kingdom Services Group added: 'We are aware of the video circulating in relation to the serious conduct of two Kingdom Local Authority Support enforcement officers.

'As soon as the incident and subsequent complaint were brought to our attention in May, swift action was taken.

'The individuals concerned no longer work for Kingdom Local Authority Support.'

They later added: 'They had both passed their DBS checks, completed their mandatory training and no previous complaints had been made about the two individuals.

'We understand the incident has been reported to the police and we will support any further investigation.'