Locksmith caught near destroyed ULEZ camera with a ladder and pair of pliers denies being a Blade Runner vigil
Published: 12:13, 7 December 2023 | Updated: 12:15, 7 December 2023
A locksmith has denied being a Ulez[2] camera 'Blade Runner' after police found him next to one of the speed trackers with pliers and a ladder.
Jon Wentworth, 54, appeared at Bromley Magistrates' Court yesterday after one of London[3] Mayor Sadiq Khan[4]'s despised cameras was found destroyed.
The Ulez devices enforce Transport for London[5]'s Ultra Low Emission Zone, which charges the drivers of older vehicles GBP12.50 a day with a fine of up to GBP180.
Wentworth, of Bexleyheath, pleaded not guilty to one count of causing criminal damage to one in Arbuthnot Lane on November 7.
Prosecutor Akram Ramna told the court the camera was fixed above a traffic light on the busy road and was damaged in the early hours.
'The Crown's case is that police received a phone call from a home address on Arbuthnot Lane that they could see three males causing damage to a ULEZ camera.
'The caller said they were woken by a grinding noise of something being cut and saw one male standing outside their address as a lookout and there were sparks going everywhere.
Wentworth, of Bexleyheath, pleaded not guilty to one count of causing criminal damage to one in Arbuthnot Lane on November 7
Stock picture of Ulez camera which enforce Transport for London 's Ultra Low Emission Zone, which charges the drivers of older vehicles GBP12.50 a day with a fine of up to GBP180
'There were another two males on ladders who were able to evade the police officers, but one suspect was crossing the road with a ladder in his hands when he was stopped by the police.
'This was the defendant Mr Wentworth, who also had a pair of pliers in his back pocket and another pair of pliers were found at the scene.'
But Wentworth's lawyer Anna Jemmison said there was an entirely innocent explanation for him being there.
She explained: 'The defendant accepts being in the area, but not that he was one of the three men committing criminal damage or assisting or encouraging any other person to do so.
'There is no forensic evidence linking my client to the criminal damage.
Wentworth denied the charge and was bailed to return for a trial on February 12, next year
'As far as possession of the ladder he was out walking and seeing it in the middle of the road was concerned for pedestrians and motorists and moved the ladder.
'He did have a tool on him.
He is a locksmith and needed it for work that day.'
Wentworth was bailed to return for a trial on February 12, next year.
Sadiq Khan[6]'s controversial ULEZ[7] expansion generated GBP5.3million in its first week with 300,000 extra drivers charged for driving non-compliant vehicles within Greater London[8].
More than 425,000 ULEZ charges were paid in the week following the extension, compared to just 140,000 the week before.
The scheme, designed to limit harmful pollution, means that anyone with a non-compliant vehicle has to pay a daily GBP12.50 fee to drive within London - or a larger fine if this is not paid.
Most petrol[9] cars registered before 2006 and diesel cars registered before 2015 are non-compliant.
Police have faced anti-ULEZ activists - who call themselves 'Blade Runners' - vandalising or stealing cameras in record numbers, with almost 1,000 offences recorded between April 1 and October 31 this year.