Ulez cameras 'don't even last a day' before vigilantes take action and destroy them
Cudham used to be a part of Kent before becoming Greater London
Wikimedia Commons/PA
Ulez cameras in a south London village “don’t even last a day” before vigilantes decide to take action and destroy them, it has been claimed.
Cudham, a village which used to be in Kent but is now considered Greater London, has been rocked by the £12.50 daily Ulez charge.
Cars are essential in the village to navigate its narrow lanes to access essential services like hospitals and shops.
Non-compliant vehicles, such as tractors and horse trailers, are commonly used in the tiny village.
WATCH HOW ULEZ VIGILANTES ARE CAUSING CHAOS
Unhappy residents now to have to pay the daily non-compliant charge, which was introduced last month.
Cudham residents have claimed that many of the cameras which track the type of vehicle entering the low emission zone, are quickly destroyed by vandals.
Michael Chapman, owner of a garage in Cudham called the scheme a “a load of old c**p”.
He said: “The more cameras that are cut down here the better. We had one up the road and in 24hrs it was gone. There are no cameras up here. We’re in the middle of nowhere and only one hundred yards into the zone. It’s affected the business massively, and everyone’s having to get rid of good cars.
“How much pollution is that creating to replace the cars we’ve got? Cars here are taxed £30 a year because they’re that good for emissions. But they’re not good enough for the Uez.
“People used to come in for an MOT and a service. Now they’re not having a service because they won’t be able to use this car. Even though there are no cameras here, we get loads of customers here and they’re worried.
“It would be more use doing what Wales have done with the 20mph limit [in all built up areas]. That would cut emissions down. No one round here is for it.”
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Dennis Rerdy, the garage’s other director, said he supported vigilante efforts to damage the cameras: “I think if you can’t get any satisfaction based on trying to talk to someone, how are you going to get any action done? Political leaders don’t listen to you. You have to drop them a hint.”
One of the garage’s frequent customers, Tony Lawman, said he and his son had recently incurred £400 in Ulez fines between them.
Lawman, 80, said: “It’s just another tax really, isn’t it? It means I can’t go to Waitrose, I can’t do that anymore. I can’t go to my dentist anymore.
“I appreciate the need to think about conservation, clean air and the future of the planet and so on, but it [the Ulez expansion] could’ve been handled better."
He said he received two £100 fines when he dropped off a friend at Gatwick airport.
The 80-year-old said his son had also been fined even though he pre-pays for the charge.
Lawman said: “The whole system seems to be in chaos.”
The disabling of the cameras hasn’t just been limited to Cudham, as furious drivers all across London and surrounding counties have begun targeting camera vans enforcing Ulez expansion.
Some anti-Ulez protestors have decided to take matters into their own hands and have chosen to disable the cameras themselves.
Ulez camera's have been vandalised by many disagreeing with the scheme
PAEarlier this month GB News spoke to a ‘Blade Runner’ Ulez vigilante who has been sabotaging the cameras.
Lee – not his real name – estimates that he has disabled more than 60 cameras himself.
Justifying his controversial actions, Lee exclusively told GB News: “It is a war on working-class people, the poorest people, the ones who can't afford a compliant car. It's a tax on the poor.”
Sadiq Khan, whose scheme has been criticised by many, has said that: “We’re not anti-car. We’re not anti-people being able to use their car.
"What we’re 'anti' is poison in the air that causes children to have stunted lungs, around 4,000 premature deaths a year, adults with a whole host of health issues from asthma to cancer, dementia to heart disease.
“So, what we’re encouraging people to do is to get rid of their non-compliant vehicles, which means when they’re driving these vehicles they’re breathing in the poison, kids in the back are breathing in the poison as well.”
The scheme, which was introduced in 2019, was expanded last month.
Drivers now have to pay a £12.50 daily fee if their vehicle is non-Ulez compliant.
The charge will hit petrol vehicles introduced earlier than 2005 which are not compliant with Euro 4 emissions regulations.
Diesel cars and vans are only exempt if their engine complies with Euro 6 rules, which were introduced in September 2015.