Where furious letter writing campaigns by frustrated drivers failed, vandals led by a shadowy group of vigilantes have put the boot in, leaving a trail of destruction against London’s ULEZ system.
Entrepreneurs up in arms.
Many entrepreneurs are up in arms about the ULEZ plan that city officials extended to the whole of London on August 29. It forces drivers to pay £12.50 a day to drive in the capital, or face a £180 fine.
Vandals have destroyed at least 450 of the 1,762 cameras mainly in the leafy suburbs of London, according to the Daily Telegraph.
Paint sprayed, wires cut.
Reports say the vandals have spray painted and cut wires in a bid to immobilise the cameras.
On just one day, people smashed 14 out of 16 cameras in one borough.
One hundred of our cameras are missing.
Bromley, to the south of the city, is the worst hit, reporting that 100 of its 120 cameras are either damaged or missing.
Civic leaders in Bromley say it is like a war of attrition. As soon as the cameras are erected or repaired the vandals move in to take them down.
Beware the Blade Runners.
A secretive balaclava-clad vigilante group calling themselves the Blade Runners has claimed responsibility for a spate of attacks.
The group has told Daily Mail it wants to take out every ULEZ camera in London with what it calls unpaid voluntary work.
Not everyone likes ULEZ.
It is clear that not everyone in London likes the idea. A YouGov poll last year showed 43% of Londoners supported the expansion, while another 8% supported a delayed one. About 27% were opposed and the rest undecided.
The plan is akin to hundreds of others in traffic-choked cities across Europe.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan is determined to push ahead with it to clear the air over the capital.
