An anti-ULEZ activist who deliberately blew up a street camera in southeast London using a homemade bomb has been jailed for 15 years.

Retired electrical appliances engineer Kevin Rees, 63, was found to have damaged an ultra-low emission zone camera in Sidcup, with a low-sophistication, improvised explosive device at 6.45pm on 6 December 2023.

The explosion damaged cars and property up to 100m away, with shrapnel striking the outside of a child's bedroom.

The blast sparked a counter-terrorism investigation and a judge ruled there was a "terrorism connection".

A Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP) investigation identified Rees as the person who destroyed the camera due to his opposition to the ULEZ scheme.

Officers found that he used a homemade bomb - a metal cylinder filled with explosive powder - to cause the blast.

Three homemade stun guns were found at his home in Sidcup.

A jury at Woolwich Crown Court found Rees guilty of one count of causing an explosion likely to endanger life in January and at the Old Bailey on Friday he was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

He was also convicted by the jury of three counts of having a banned weapon.

Judge Anthony Bate told Rees the explosion had a "terrorism connection", which led to a tougher sentence and means the defendant will face stricter conditions when he is released from prison.

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."

He added: "CCTV from a bus travelling down the road at the time shows how it narrowly missed the blast of debris by seconds.

"Damage of any kind is completely unacceptable, and this particular incident demonstrates the very serious consequences for those responsible when taken to this extreme."

Rees had travelled in his Smart car from his home in Sidcup to Shuttle Close shortly after 6.20pm on 6 December 2023.

He walked the short distance from his car to the camera, which had been installed earlier that day, and then planted the device and lit a fuse. A witness then saw him walking quickly away from the scene.

The blast damaged a van opposite and blew out the tyre of a nearby car. Shrapnel also shot through a passing car into the bottom of a passenger seat.

The explosion damaged a nearby wall, a front porch, a shed, and a Wendy house.

A piece of metal also travelled more than 100m, damaging the window frame of a child's bedroom. Despite the extensive damage, nobody was injured.

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Forensic analysis of the explosive device identified that "black powder" had been used.

Rees was arrested on 18 December 2023 and his home was searched.

Detectives analysed his social media posts and found he had written several times about ULEZ cameras and encouraged the damaging of them.

During the trial, Rees told the court he "strongly opposed" the ULEZ scheme - and London Mayor Lord Sadiq Khan.

The ULEZ scheme, which requires drivers to pay a daily charge based on how polluting the emissions from their vehicle are, faced local opposition after it was expanded to cover all of London in 2023.

Cameras are used by Transport for London (TfL) to monitor the cars that enter and exit the zone, triggering fines for motorists who have not paid the daily charge.

Bethan David, former head of the Crown Prosecution Service's counter-terrorism division, said: "This was not an act of protest or momentary vandalism.

"This was a deliberate and dangerous attack involving a homemade explosive device, carried out in a residential street and designed to destroy public infrastructure.

"Whatever his views on the Ulez scheme, Kevin Rees crossed a serious line by constructing a homemade bomb and detonating it in a public place.

"It was pure chance that no-one suffered serious injury or worse."