Anti-Ulez protester hurt while challenging camera van says she will be in pain for weeks

An anti-Ulez protester caught in a collision with a Ulez security car told ITV News London political correspondent Simon Harris she's expecting to be in pain for weeks

An anti-Ulez protester has said she was hurt while challenging a mobile camera van that captures drivers entering the expanded clean air zone.

Heather Watts and a group of anti-Ulez activists were trying to frustrate a mobile camera van on a quiet lane at Biggin Hill on the border between Bromley and Kent.

They meet regularly to block the cameras but on Sunday they got too close to one of the vans, leading to a collision.

Transport for London say they are investigating but that nobody was seriously injured.

But Ms Watts, who was caught up in the chaos, told ITV News London she is expecting to be in pain for weeks. She ended up on the ground after an encounter with a car driven by a security team protecting a mobile Ulez camera van.

Protesters at a rally in September against the expansion of London’s Ulez Credit: Jeff Moore/PA
Nearly 1,000 Ulez cameras damaged or stolen in seven months

She is now on crutches and still shaken by what happened.

"They knocked me in my legs which then pushed me onto the bonnet and then I was hobbling to try and get away," she said.

"I thought I was going to go under the car, to be honest.

"And with that they just went. I've got bruising on my ankle, both shins, my knee and the top of thigh is very sore." Opponents of the Ulez extension - many wearing fancy dress - are using the same tactic. Their aim is block the camera's view so it can't read number plates.

They believe they're not breaking the law. Claire was with Heather on Sunday. She chased after the TfL vehicles in her car and got in front of them at a roundabout. In a statement, Transport for London said: "We are investigating exactly what happened, but it is our understanding that no-one was seriously injured. Despite her injuries, Ms Watts, who's a driving instructor, said she is not put off and she will be out again with her placard, even if she's still on crutches.

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