With countless motorists already fined for speeding on a “poorly signed” segment of the A20, some are at risk of losing their license with no recourse but legal intervention.

The News Shopper published an exclusive story on January 30, highlighting issues on the A20 Eastbound in Sidcup where thousands of drivers have received Notice of Intended Prosecutions (NIPs) after reportedly speeding.

The busy A road has been “temporarily” changed to a 40mph road due to flooding concerns and has been under an "emergency" order by Transport for London (TfL) since October.

A spokesperson for TfL says it plans to begin construction work on this particular stretch of road will begin in May, and it is working to put permanent measures in place to tackle the flooding “as soon as possible”.

However, due to these “temporary” speed changes, countless motorists have received fines for exceeding the 40mph limit, with a rogue 50mph sign placed in the middle of the 40mph zone by an “unauthorised third party”, according to TfL, which has since been removed.

One driver who has been slapped with two NIPs for allegedly exceeding the speed limit on January 7, says the circumstances surrounding the improper placement of signs have led to “significant confusion” among drivers.

Halil told the News Shopper: “As someone who regularly uses this roadway, I empathize with the concerns raised by others.

News Shopper:

“The lack of clear and prominent signage, especially in the midst of ongoing safety concerns related to surface water flooding, has created a highly challenging environment for drivers.

“The reported issues with sign visibility and the hurried introduction of emergency speed reductions have understandably caused stress and confusion among many road users.

“I don’t believe that this has genuinely been placed here to protect drivers but have merely been put here as a ‘speed trap’.

“There was no sign, no flash and nothing to encourage corrective action - I am therefore not surprised some people have received more than six to seven fines.”

A TfL spokesperson said they want to ensure that all drivers are “treated fairly”, and speed limit signage was installed to “reflect the new limit.”

The Metropolitan Police has said that after taking legal advice, the location of the 50mph sign would not have “impacted the enforcement of the 40mph average speed limit”.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police added: “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.”

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 2,700 people have joined - with members increasing by the minute.

“Every day there is around 60 to 100 people joining – how can TfL and the Met Police still not see a problem?”, Facebook group creator Becky Seymore added.

The rogue 50mph sign is just one of many issues reported by members using the A20 Facebook support group, as other concerns include only one side of the carriageway being 40mph, no layout change signage, sat navs showing a speed limit of 70mph, no grace period, and poor signage in general.

A collective group of elected representatives 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.

MP for Old Bexley and Sidcup told the News Shopper: “I continue to be very concerned about what Transport for London have introduced on the A20 from both a road safety and fairness perspective.”

One man helping those slapped with a speeding ticket is Dominic Smith, the director of motoring solicitors Pattersons Law, who has reminded motorists that if cases are taken to court individually, and they have turned down a fixed penalty or speed awareness course, then they could end up with more penalty points and higher fines.

He explains: “What he (Kent Radio speaker) is effectively saying is that he advises all motives to reject their offers at this stage and take everything to court.

“But then at court, if the magistrates find people guilty, he is hoping that the magistrates would have sympathy and would still give people three points and £100 fine.

“My advice just goes a little bit further.

“He does indeed ask everybody to seek their own individual advice based on their own individual circumstances, which is effectively what I am doing.

“There are a lot of these cases going to court anyway, I am just treading a little more carefully and reminding people that if they do take their cases to court individually, and they have turned down a fixed penalty or a speed awareness course, they could end up with more penalty points and higher fines/costs.

“Certainly, those who have turned down the speed awareness course would.

“That is why I am encouraging everybody to make an individual decision based on their own individual circumstances.”