A disgruntled carpenter who was caught red-handed vandalising a Ulez camera had been ordered to pay compensation and do community service, after the first successful prosecution for criminal damage aimed at the Mayor of London’s flagship environment and transport policy.
Stephen Nunn, 60, faced payment of the £12.50 charge on each day that he left his home in Corkscrew Hill in West Wickham in Bromley.
He was caught by the Metropolitan Police on October 27 while spraying painting the Ulez camera in Hayles Lane, Bromley, which is close to his home.
He had fashioned a device out of a long pole and a piece of string to carry out the vandalism, the CPS said.
At his home, Nunn had collected anti-Ulez posters, stickers branded with 'ULEZ Blade Runner', and British Resistance paperwork including detailed instructions on what to do if arrested.
At Bromley magistrates court on Wednesday, Nunn, who runs a carpentry and handyman firm, was sentenced to 100 hours of community service ina 12-month community order.
He must also pay £349.78 in compensation to Transport for London.
Nunn pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal damage last month, making him the first person to be successful prosecuted for damaging Ulez cameras.
Another man, Joseph Nicolls, 42, from Sidcup, was previously charged with criminal damage, malicious communications, and handling stolen goods as well as aiding and abetting the destruction or damage of an Ulez camera. He is set to face a trial in June next year.
In November, Scotland Yard released statistics saying 987 crimes relating to Ulez cameras had been recorded between April and October. Thisincludes 220 camera thefts, and 767 cameras being damaged.
Following Nunn’s sentencing, CPS London South Senior Crown Prosecutor Alza Rashed said: “Stephen Nunn may well have thought by dressing all in black and damaging the Ulez camera late at night, that he might have got away with it, but he was caught in the act by police officers and arrested.
“Causing damage to Ulez cameras will result in prosecution whenever our legal test is met."
