Vehicles have been left damaged after an Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) camera “exploded” in southeast London, with one local resident saying the blast was “deafening”.

A van and a bus were damaged in the explosion, and one man was treated at the scene in Sidcup.

Debris was strewn across the road following the incident.

Jasmine, who lives in the area and was driving nearby at the time, told Sky News: “The explosion was deafening and at first I thought it was some sort of bomb that had gone off.”

She said a van parked nearby was “damaged quite badly” and her car was “covered in debris”.

“It was lucky there was no one walking by at the time,” she said.

Another local resident said it had been cut down earlier in the day, around 5.30pm, and later exploded.

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Officers said they were called to Willersley Avenue at about 18.47pm on Wednesday “following reports that a ULEZ camera had exploded”.

No arrests have been made in relation to the incident.

Officers urged anyone with information to contact them, adding “anyone who sees anyone or anything suspicious by or on a ULEZ camera should not approach and should contact police”.

The London Fire Brigade also attended. Sky News has contacted Transport for London, which operates the cameras, for a comment.

The Ultra Low Emission Zone, introduced with the aim of improving air quality in London, was expanded on 29 August.

Read more:
London’s low emission zones have improved air quality – study

It means motorists who drive heavily polluting vehicles, usually older or diesel cars, have to pay a £12.50 daily fee to drive in the zone. The cameras record the movements of vehicles into and around the charging zone.

The move was heavily criticised when it was expanded, but London mayor Sadiq Khan said it was a “difficult” but “vital” decision.

Hundreds of attacks on the cameras have been reported over the last seven months, police have said.

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