An accident in south-east London was triggered by "Blade Runner" campaigners who vandalised a Ulez camera but also put traffic lights out of action, furious local residents have claimed.
The anti-Ulez activists have unleashed a fresh wave of vandalism around south east London, cutting down up to 10 cameras with a five mile radius around Orpington, Bromley and Lewisham.
The Ulez scheme aims to improve air quality by charging a £12.50 daily fee to enter the zone for vehicles that do not meet emissions standards.
It is enforced by a network of number-plate recognition cameras but a group who have named themselves the "Blade Runners" have orchestrated a campaign of vandalism against the cameras.
Figures released by the Met in November said there had been nearly 1,000 recorded crimes connected to the cameras being stolen or vandalised in the past seven months.
Residents in Orpington took to social media on Thurdsay, posting images of traffic lights and a Ulez camera destroyed on Court Road.
They say that because the traffic lights were out a family were involved in a minor traffic collision where Court Road meets Ramsden Road in an incident on the school run.
Police confirmed an accident took place in which a girl, 6, was injured. They also said they were investigating five reports of Ulez cameras or traffic lights being vandalised overnight in the Orpington area.
Nikita Louise posted on Facebook: "I understand the cause with the ULEZ cameras but cutting the actual lights is quite frankly idiotic, it's going to cause carnage and accidents.
"Let's hope none of the "blade runners" families are involved in any crashes that occur due to them cutting the lights down across the whole of Orpington & Chislehurst/Bickley, wonder if they'd feel guilty then that their the cause...... Seen kids this morning trying to cross the roads but they can't cause no one is stopping to let them cross, seen a few near misses on my way into work as well."
Dee-Dee Brown wrote: "I think it’s a shame, that people are putting ulez over the safety of human life, hopefully there will be no fatalities, so many crashes all ready, I’m pregnant and very scared to do the school runs because there are no lights all the way to school because of this nonsense it’s really not a good look imo."
Another said: "Everyone saying its not time to stop. Are you saying it's OK that people got injured? It's all ok long as it's not your family and loved ones injured isn't it. How selfish. Blade runners have lost their way, this is down right dangerous now. I'm against ULEZ, but putting people at risk isn't the way."
The problem with the traffic lights was originally flagged by a local on social media, who wrote: "Traffic lights have been vandalised at top of spur road/court road. So no lights are working. Couple of near misses with cars. People not looking properly. I have reported it. Be careful."
But some jumped to defend the activists who call themselves Blade Runners and said their direct action should continue.
One wrote on Facebook: "No it’s not time to stop like it’s been said war on motorists and the working class there will always be some casualties. If you wanna stop email Khan to stop put them on traffic lights. Working class are with you blade runners."
Chief Inspector Priya Shome, based in Bromley, said: "We are investigating the criminal damage to five sets of traffic lights in the Orpington area overnight which has caused major traffic management issues.
"Two police units, who should have been available to answer 999 calls, were instead required to spend the morning managing traffic.
"The people who are carrying out this criminal damage are putting the public at risk. This morning, there has been a collision between two cars on Court Road, at the location of one of the damaged traffic lights, in which a child was injured.
"I would urge the people carrying out these crimes to stop immediately and think about the danger they are causing to road users."
Police confirmed they were called to the Court road area were called shortly before 8.30am on Thursday to reports of an accident.
Two vehicles were involved in a collision. An adult and a six-year-old girl, were taken to hospital to be treated for head injuries. Their condition has been assessed as non life-threatening.
At the weekend the activists target a camera in Chislehurst, in the borough of Bromley, and left damaged and laying on the pavement.
Officers are also investigating incidents in Baring Road, Marvels Lane, Bromley Road and Southend Lane.
The areas targeted, in Bromley and Lewisham, have been hotbeds of opposition to the Ulez expansion and the attack took place under two miles from a Sidcup camera which was blown up by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) last month.
After the Sidcup explosion using an improvised explosive device (IED) DCS Trevor Lawry said: “It is extremely concerning that an explosive device seems to have been deliberately placed in a public place. This could have very easily resulted in members of the public being very seriously injured.”
Two people have been arrested so far over alleged attacks on cameras. One has been charged and bailed ahead of trial, while the Crown Prosecution Service discontinued the other case.
A Transport for London spokesperson said: “Vandalism is unacceptable and all incidents on our network are reported to the police for investigation. Criminal damage to ULEZ cameras or vehicles puts the perpetrators at risk of prosecution and injury, while simultaneously risking the safety of the public.
"We are aware of a collision today between two cars at the location of a vandalised traffic light, and our thoughts are with the two people who were injured.
“Camera vandalism will not stop the ULEZ operating London-wide. All vandalised cameras are repaired or replaced as soon as possible. We have an extensive camera network which is sufficient to support the effective operation of the scheme.
"Anyone driving a non-compliant vehicle within the expanded zone will be detected and we advise everyone to check whether their vehicle is compliant and to consider the various support that is available to help transition to greener modes of transport.”
“We work hard to keep people safe and to keep traffic moving and we urgently attend to all reports of traffic signal outages. We are working to ensure that these traffic lights in Orpington are fixed as quickly as possible.”
