ULEZ Camera Bomb Blast Rocks Sidcup Neighbourhood
Kevin Rees, 63, is on trial for allegedly bombing a ULEZ camera in London’s Willersley Avenue on December 6, 2023. The explosion rocked local homes, shattered windows, and damaged vehicles, narrowly missing a passenger in a passing car.
Homemade Bomb Packed with Explosive Powder
At Woolwich Crown Court, Prosecutor Simon Denison KC revealed that Rees allegedly built the bomb from a metal cylinder filled with explosive powder. After an accomplice sawed down the camera, Rees is said to have driven from his home, planted the bomb, lit the fuse, and sped off. The blast was so fierce it shook houses nearby. Shrapnel ripped apart a car door and damaged a parked van. Even a child’s bedroom window 28 metres away was smashed, with blinds torn down and debris scattered—fortunately, no one was inside at the time. Fragments flew over 100 metres, damaging another house on Shuttle Close. “No one was injured by sheer luck,” Mr Denison warned. “Someone could have been seriously hurt.”
Rees Denies Bombing Despite Mounting Evidence
Appearing via video link from home, Rees denies the charges of causing an explosion likely to endanger life or property. Witnesses described a man lighting a cylinder, placing it, and fleeing, followed by a “massive bang” that stunned onlookers. Forensics found black powder, a common firework explosive, at the scene. After his arrest on December 18 while dropping his wife at Sidcup Station, Rees reportedly asked, “Has this got something to do with the ULEZ Facebook sites I was using?” Police raided his home, uncovering aluminium powder and iron oxide—key ingredients for homemade thermite bombs—and a 2011 price list for bomb-making chemicals. Officers also seized three homemade stun guns, though Rees denies weapons charges.
Anti-ULEZ Campaigner’s Explosive Social Media Trail
Mr Denison exposed Rees’ intense social media war against the ULEZ scheme. He ran a Facebook group called “Ulez Camaras” that tracked camera installations and urged vandalism. He warned followers to “be really careful” of police stalking these groups. Evidence showed coded messages using words like “trees” and “pruning” — slang for chopping down camera poles. In November 2023, Rees bragged about making and planting bombs. “That thing I made on the pole is mad,” he wrote. A friend dubbed him “the Terminator,” with Rees replying, “The Exterminator.” Police found deleted photos on his phone showing the camera’s installation and his social media posts celebrating the blast. CCTV caught the bomber’s figure, but Rees insists it wasn’t him.
“The defendant denies that he was the person who caused the explosion,” said Mr Denison.
