A man who shared a message on Facebook encouraging people to damage Ulez cameras has been spared jail.

Joseph Nicholls, 43, was separately handed a suspended sentence for sending a threatening email to a company which provides cameras for the scheme.

Father-of-three Nicholls, of Foots Cray High Street, Sidcup, shared a post in a closed anti-Ulez Facebook group in April 2023 which encouraged members to damage and dismantle the cameras, Woolwich Crown Court heard.

The defendant then sent an email on May 5 2023 to Yunex Traffic intended to cause “distress or anxiety”.

According to prosecutor Charles Evans, Nicholls’ note said: “If I see that little group of sad electricians (repairing cameras) I will smash each and every one of them in the face.”

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

A police search later carried out at his home found parts for two Ulez cameras.

Woolwich Crown Court
The hearing was held at Woolwich Crown Court (Alamy/PA)

Defence barrister Claire Cooper told the court her client had never been on the streets causing damage to cameras himself and that the parts were likely to have been brought into his home by other anti-Ulez campaigners who had previously gathered there.

Nicholls cried in the dock on Wednesday when he was handed suspended jail sentences of 10 months for sharing the social media post and 18 weeks for the threatening email, to run concurrently.

He was ordered to pay £1,630 in prosecution costs, £5,000 in compensation to Yunex Traffic and a £187 victim surcharge. He agreed to pay the £6,817 total in instalments of £200 per month.

The defendant will also have to carry out 15 days of rehabilitation activity requirements and 150 hours of unpaid work.

Sentencing, Recorder Andrew Hammond said: “The right and wrongs of Ulez are not a matter for this court but in any event this case is not about Ulez but the rule of law.

“(Your email) was a deliberate attempt on your part to intimidate other people. These people you threatened were employees performing something akin to a public service.

“They have the right to to perform their jobs without fear of intimidation or threats of violence.

“These offences were the result of your poor temper and control, and poor consequential thinking on your part.”

The judge also said that despite him never damaging Ulez cameras himself, he had contributed to a wider movement that had led to 174 cameras being vandalised in some way.

Vigilantes repeatedly targeted the cameras after the Ulez area was expanded to cover all of London last year.

Vehicles that do not meet minimum emissions standards are required to pay a £12.50 daily fee when used in the Ulez zone, or face a fine.

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

A spokesperson for Transport for London (TfL) described Nicholls’ offences as “morally reprehensible”.

They said: “This was a morally reprehensible attempt to disrupt a scheme that is helping millions of Londoners to breathe cleaner air.

“Toxic air leads to children growing up with stunted lungs and is linked to people developing dementia, cancer and other serious health conditions.

“Most poignantly it is attributed to thousands of premature deaths.

“We hope this sentence will act as a warning to those considering breaking the law and engaging in acts that could result in serious harm to themselves and others.

“The Ulez continues to operate successfully London-wide and all vandalised cameras are repaired and replaced as soon as possible.

“Without the expansion we wouldn’t have seen a reduction in hundreds of tonnes of poisonous nitrogen dioxide, the equivalent to taking 200,000 cars off the road.

“It has also resulted in more than 95% of vehicles seen driving in the zone meeting the world-leading emissions standards.”