A music studio has had to move business out of London after the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) has made it “near impossible” to work in the city.

Lee Murthwaite owns Medway Sound Creative Space, based in Rochester, and is unable to work in London, where most of his work comes from, as his vehicle is not compliant with the scheme.

Mr Murthwaite has a DJ studio and a rehearsal space in the Towns, but also hosts events across the south-east.

He claims he was forking out nearly £100 for each job in the capital because of the ULEZ charge congestion fee and parking costs.

“It’s been tough because we’ve had to take a hit and re-group and start to re-market and push ourselves out into the home county," Mr Murthwaite explained.

“So we did have a good while, but bookings for our sound systems and our event production just went down – not to zero because we’ve always had local business, but it did take a significant hit.

“It’s not just the cost of paying the ULEZ charge, we need to upgrade our vehicles and things like that so there’s a significant cost for that.

“One sound system installation could pay the rent for this building for the month, so if we’re losing 70% of that work then obviously the impact for us is quite big. We had to re-invest in the business from a personal perspective.”

Sadiq Khan introduced ULEZ almost four years ago, which means cars not meeting transport for London’s standards need to pay a £12.50 charge for entering certain areas in the city.

Vehicles having to pay a fee include petrol cars made before 2005 and diesel cars before 2015.

Electric vehicles and cars more than 40 years old are exempt from these fees.

Since this was introduced, figures show there are more than 70,000 fewer polluting vehicles driving in these zones.

From August 29, the zone is expanding to Bexley and Bromley – a decision which has not been well-received from residents in the county.

At the weekend, protesters took to the streets of Orpington against the incoming ULEZ charges.

While previously, a Wilmington vicar has said the charges will affect mourners attending the funerals of loved ones.

Dartford residents have also expressed concerns over the expansion and admitted to feeling "exiled"

However, one organisation welcomes the expansion of ULEZ outside of the city.

Jemima Hartsorn is the founder of Mums for Lungs, which campaigns for ‘clean air for everyone'.

She said: “Kent residents are being pitted against mothers and families who have sick children with asthma, when really we all want the same thing – we want clean air.

“I don’t believe that for a second anyone in Kent wants to actually drive into London and contribute to the toxic, toxic fumes that London’s children are breathing.

“It makes total sense to start with the most polluting cars and getting the most polluting cars off London’s roads.”