London - It is one of the poorest neighbourhoods in Britain, with about one in 10 unemployed.

But teenagers in Tower Hamlets, in the east of London, have splurged on expensive supercars which cost more than a house in the area.

The 16-year-olds rent Lamborghinis, Ferraris and Bentleys as they celebrate leaving school, the Mail Online reported. For them, it is an opportunity to show off and turn the spotlight on themselves.

The vehicles can cost up to £300,000 (S$580,000) each to buy, yet one-bedroom flats in some parts of the borough are worth as little as £70,000.

The students wanted to head to their National Record of Achievement (NRA) ceremony - an event roughly equivalent to a prom celebration - in style, and found a stylish way to do it.

"It's showing off, basically. Playing music, going from area to area to area," said Swanlea School student Foyzur Rahman, who attended the ceremony this year and split a £400 fee with a friend to rent an Audi S4 for four days.

"Showing off your car, just everyone looking at you... "

For some teens, the substantial sums are hard to come by.

Swanlea student Stephan Bolompa said that when he first approached his mother with the price of booking a car, it was too much to take from the family budget.

Click here to view the gallery.

In the end, he was only able to go to the ceremony in a showy ride thanks to a friend's mother, who borrowed a Range Rover Sport for free with the help of a company connection.

He said: "Just the feeling that you're actually taking part in the ceremony by having a car, it's a good feeling."

The students, who are too young to drive, are chauffeured through the neighbourhood either by drivers connected with car hire companies or by friends or relatives.

Clad in evening wear, they pose for pictures before attending the NRA ceremony at school, during which awards and certificates are distributed, and then head out for the night.

Many of those in the more expensive rides switch later to "after-cars" - saloons or larger vehicles - which they can travel in together, often getting involved in road races.

"When every NRA comes you just feel excited for the kids," said Mr Ibrahim Hussain, who went through the rite of passage last year and works part-time at his brother's car-hire business, which rents out vehicles for the ceremonies.

"Certain people obviously don't want to spend the money, you can understand that, their parents might be not working. But certain kids, obviously, they're crazy, they'll save up from young and they just want to hire it."

Tower Hamlets is home to the largest Bangladeshi community in Britain, and the majority of students taking part are of Bangladeshi origin.

'It was quite small at that time, but obviously now it's probably the biggest date on their diaries, including Eid (the Muslim holiday) and everything else.' he said.

Photo: Reuters

Click here to view the gallery.

Get The New Paper for more stories.