The Metropolitan Police Prosecution Team has said that a sign with the wrong 50mph speed limit on the A20 would have “not impacted” the enforcement of the 40mph average speed limit previously introduced by TfL.

On Wednesday January 24, the Metropolitan Police was told that a 50mph sign had been placed by a third-party on a section of the eastbound A20 in Sidcup by a where the speed limit had recently been reduced to 40mph.

The 50mph sign, which has since been removed, was not placed there by the Metropolitan Police or Transport for London and police are investigating this as an attempt to “pervert the course of justice”.

The Met’s prosecutions team, which deals with speeding offences, has taken legal advice and says the location of the 50mph sign would “not have impacted the enforcement of the 40mph average speed limit”.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said: “If a motorist were to have travelled through the section that is signed as 40mph at the maximum permitted speed of 40mph, then sped up to 50mph after seeing the now removed 50mph sign, their average speed of the section covered by cameras would not have resulted in them being issued with a speeding ticket.”

Despite this, a number of drivers have received Notice of Intended Prosecutions (NIPs) after reportedly speeding along the A20 Eastbound.

Some have said they are at risk of losing their jobs, homes, and driving licenses.

A Facebook group dedicated to supporting those who have received speeding fines on this particular stretch of the A20 was created on January 17, 2024, and more than 200 people have joined - with members increasing by the minute.

“We had more than 100 people when we set it up, and nine days later, we have 245 members”, Facebook group creator Becky Seymore added.

Members have expressed their frustrations and worries regarding the speeding tickets, just like Simon Routledge, who was “dumbfounded” when he received his NIP, after he has driven “up and down” what he thought was a 50mph zone many times for work.

On January 7, 2024, Simon was returning from a snooker competition in Petts Wood when he was caught speeding on this stretch of the A20 at 54mph.

He told the News Shopper: “It's my mistake; I presumed the road was 50mph.

“I drove down yesterday, and I could see the 40mph zone signs, but they're about three foot high.

“Originally the road was a 70mph zone, then 50mph.

“I was doing 54mph, but now it’s saying I was doing 14 miles over the speed limit - I am not a mad driver and have had no convictions.”

A collective group of elected representatives across south east London and Kent have since written to the Mayor of London and Commissioner of Transport for London to discuss the “temporary” speeding measures on the A20 Eastbound in Sidcup.

Eleven MPs and one GLA said that the communication of the temporary change of speed limits has been “poor”, as the majority of people heard about the changes through email enquiries and a freedom of information request.

The elected representatives are now challenging the Mayor of London to “take the following actions immediately to resolve this ongoing mess” including: "1) Confirm the dates when the road safety works will begin and when the "temporary" speed limit will be ended.

"2) Confirm what steps you are taking to improve the signage for drivers and what proactive communications you are taking to ensure Satellite Navigation systems are updated.

"3) Confirm how many speeding fines have been issued on this stretch of road since the cameras and new speed limits were installed. Please treat this as a freedom of information request if you are not willing to be transparent.

"4) Request that the police cancel all speeding fines and license points directly linked to this ongoing issue, especially those where drivers were travelling 50mph and under."

TfL last issued an update to the News Shopper on January 26, which stated that the signage has been “reviewed" and found that an “incorrect” 50mph sign has been recently placed at this location by an unauthorised third party.

“This has been replaced with the correct 40mph signage and we are investigating how the incorrect sign was installed”, the TfL spokesperson added.

TfL has been contacted for another comment since.