A six-year-old girl and an adult are in hospital after a crash at a set of traffic lights suspected to have been damaged following a spate of ULEZ camera vandalism.

Police were called to an accident involving two vehicles in Court Road, Orpington at around 8.30am yesterday.

An adult and a six-year-old girl were taken to hospital to be treated for head injuries. Their condition has been assessed as non life-threatening.

The crash is thought to have been caused by the vandalism of five sets of traffic lights, which were no longer working following a suspected attack on ULEZ cameras in the area.

Court Road at the junction with Spur Road, Old Priory Avenue and the High Street were affected, as well as Cray Avenue, Station Road and Station Approach.

The incident is just one of many to have happened since the controversial expansion of London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) to the border with Kent.

Chief Inspector Priya Shome, based in Bromley, took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to vent her frustration at the the vandalism which she says has taken up valuable policing resources in the borough.

"We are investigating the criminal damage to five sets of traffic lights in the Orpington area overnight which has caused major traffic management issues,” she wrote.

"Two police units, who should have been available to answer 999 calls, were instead required to spend the morning managing traffic.

"The people who are carrying out this criminal damage are putting the public at risk.

"I would urge the people carrying out these crimes to stop immediately and think about the danger they are causing to road users."

ULEZ is a scheme in London that requires vehicles with high emissions driving within the zone pay a daily charge of £12.50.

Plans for the scheme were first laid out by then-mayor Boris Johnson and taken forward by his successor, Sadiq Khan.

It has been operating since 2019 but at first, only covered the same area of Central London as the Congestion Charge.

Controversy has followed its latest expansion which has seen it stretch to Greater London up to the border with the Home Counties including Kent.