A man who used a home-made bomb to blow up an ULEZ camera in Sidcup has been jailed for 15 years at the Old Bailey.
Kevin Rees, 64, used a metal cylinder filled with powder to cause the explosion in Willersley Avenue, which damaged cars and property up to 100 metres away, including a child’s bedroom.
A passing number 51 bus was nearly caught up in the explosion on the evening of December 6, 2023.
Rees planted his bomb because he was opposed to the ULEZ scheme, which charges drivers of the most polluting vehicles when they come into Greater London. The scheme, which uses cameras to monitor number plates, had been expanded across the capital, taking in Sidcup, just over three months before his attack.
The camera had been installed that day, but had already been cut down in an unrelated incident by another individual, who has since been convicted.
Rees walked from his car to the camera, then planted the device and lit a fuse. He seen by a witness walking quickly away from the scene.
A van opposite was damaged in the explosion while a tyre on a nearby car was blown out. Shrapnel was also fired through a passing car into the bottom of a passenger seat. A nearby wall, front porch, shed and Wendy house were also damaged, but nobody was injured.
Rees was arrested 12 days later by counter-terrorism police. They searched his home in Harcourt Avenue, Sidcup, and found a sealed package addressed to him containing aluminium powder, as well as a plastic bag with a quantity of iron oxide, which can both be used to make explosives. They also found three home-made stun guns.
He was found guilty by a jury at Woolwich crown court in December of causing an explosion likely to endanger life, which Judge Anthony Bate ruled was carried out with a terrorism connection. Rees was also given a three-year sentence, which will run concurrently, for three counts of possession of prohibited weapons.
Detectives found that Rees had encouraged the damaging of ULEZ cameras on social media, while he had used his phone to take a photograph of the camera being installed on December 6, before deleting it the next day.
Officers also found screenshots of Facebook posts relating to the explosion, along with pictures of the scene when emergency services were present, which had also all been deleted.
Rees will also serve a further year on licence on top of his sentence.
Detective Chief Superintendent James Derham, who leads policing in Bexley, said: “It was miraculous that nobody was killed or seriously injured in the large explosion caused by Rees.
“He showed a complete disregard for the welfare and safety of the people who live in, or were travelling through, the area at the time of the explosion – all because he was unhappy with the ULEZ scheme.
“I’d like to thank the local community for their support and understanding while we responded and investigated this incident, and I hope this sends a very strong message of the dangers and consequences of using home-made explosives.”
Bethan David, the former head of the Crown Prosecution Service’s counter-terrorism division, said: “Kevin Rees knowingly and intentionally placed an explosive device next to the ULEZ camera, lit the fuse, and retreated before the explosion, showing clear planning and an obvious disregard for the safety of others.
“Whatever his views on the ULEZ scheme, Kevin Rees crossed a serious line by constructing a home-made bomb and detonating it in a public place. It was pure chance that no-one suffered serious injury or worse.”
In August, scientists found that young children’s lungs had improved following the introduction of ULEZ, though they cautioned that other factors should be considered too.
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