Protesters have vandalised an ultra low emission zone (ULEZ) camera in retaliation to new rules brought in by Sadiq Khan.
Pictures of the camera van showed it covered in foam with its tyres deflates. The incident led to police arriving at the scene as the van was taken away from Stock Hill, Biggin Hill, in Bromley, South East London. Traffic was held up as a result.
A 29-year-old resident, who wished not to be named, told MyLondon: “Basically the ULEZ [van] has been parked there all day, and then there was a ULEZ protest covering the ULEZ van will billboards and then just now someone sprayed expanding foam on the windscreen and let down the tyres.
“The ULEZ bloke was inside the van, and the protestors wouldn’t let him out. So the police turned up to help but a low loader had come to pick the van up and the police closed the road. It’s chaos. The whole of Biggin Hill is gridlock.
“There’s a lot of people crowded around. The protesters are cheering.”
Traffic appears to have eased up since, with locals claiming police shut the road as a result of the incident.
Sadiq Khan has faced backlash for the new ULEZ scheme after it was announced that the area was extending – leaving some motorists forced to pay a daily fee to drive within the zone.
A new report by Transport for London (TfL) revealed 57,200 drivers paid the £12.50 daily charge on an average day in the first month after the boundaries were redrawn.
On average 2,696 fines a day are being issued which are £180, reduced to £90 if paid within 14 days.
Tory London mayoral candidate Susan Hall accused her Labour rival of a “tax grab”.
She cited estimates by the Conservatives that the expansion has so far raised £52million.
Ms Hall said: “To take over £52million from hardworking people, with no gain to air quality described anywhere in this report, shows how little he cares for Londoners.
“It is those on the lowest incomes who are suffering most from this disastrous charge. As Mayor, I will scrap the ULEZ expansion on day one.”
