Man admits posting Facebook messages encouraging people to damage Ulez cameras

Over 1,500 ULEZ cameras have been criminally damaged or vandalised since March 2023

The self-proclaimed ‘Bladerunners’ have been damaging ULEZ cameras since March 2023 (Getty)

A man has admitted posting messages on Facebook encouraging people to damage Ulez cameras.

Joseph Nicolls, 43, also pleaded guilty to sending a threatening email to a company which provides cameras for the scheme.

Nicolls, of Foots Cray High Street, Sidcup, sent Yunex Traffic a message in May last year intended to cause “distress or anxiety”, Woolwich Crown Court heard.

The company’s infrastructure and technology have been “at the core” of Ulez, as well as similar schemes in Birmingham and Portsmouth, according to its website.

Nicolls’ Facebook posts were capable of “encouraging or assisting others” to carry out “criminal damage to or theft of Ulez cameras”, according to court documents.

Sadiq Khan’s ULEZ extension was a key battleground in the local elections (PA Archive)

Nicolls will be sentenced at the same court on September 20.

His arrest came after the Met Police launched an operation to detect criminals behind the damage or vandalism of Ultra Low Emission Zone cameras.

Thousands of cameras have been criminally damaged since March 2023, when TfL began installing ULEZ cameras before the emission zone was expanded to encompass the entirety of Greater London in August that year.

Drivers in ULEZ are required to pay £12.50 per day if their vehicle does not meet the minimum emissions standards - meaning many older diesel cars could no longer be freely driven in London.

The ULEZ extension caused backlash in London’s outer boroughs, and became a defining element of Conservative mayoral candidate Susan Hall’s unsuccessful campaign to oust incumbent Sadiq Khan in this year’s local elections.

The Met operation to capture alleged vandals was launched after Transport for London issued a complaint reporting 96 allegations of criminal damage to ULEZ cameras across Greater London in May 2023.

Videos have been posted online showing people described as Blade Runners cutting the cameras’ wires or completely removing the devices.