A plumber in South London said he is considering leaving his job, after spending three years paying off a new van that cannot be used under the Mayor of London’s ULEZ expansion.

The Deputy Mayor of Bexley, Conservative Councillor Rags Sandhu, said at a Bexley Council meeting on March 8 that he had spoken to a plumber who had just finished paying off a three-year bill on a new vehicle for his business.

The Deputy Mayor said the plumber told him his van was not compliant with ULEZ regulations, which would force him to pay £12.50 a day to drive through the borough from August.

At the meeting, the Deputy Mayor said: “In comparison, the scrappage scheme pays out nothing.

"No one will buy [his] van for its market value, and the newer van prices are escalated beyond reason… He’s now deciding whether to continue as a business, or get a job somewhere.”

The comments come after Bexley Council announced last month that it would legally challenge the Mayor of London on the expansion in court.

The council will be opposing the scheme in a coalition with the London boroughs of Bromley, Harrow and Hillingdon as well as Surrey County Council.

At the Bexley Council meeting, Councillor Stefano Borella, leader of the Labour Group, said the council was “wasting” resources by challenging the expansion and the move was being done for political reasons.

He said: “What happens if the council doesn’t win the case? Are we going to see [Conservative councillors] lie in the middle of the road like an eco warrior?

"Are we going to see them climb the lamppost like Swampy and stop this being introduced? They know this is a waste of money.”

Have you got a story for us? You can contact us here.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep up with all the latest news.

Sign up to our newsletters to get updates sent straight to your inbox.

Conservative Councillor Teresa O’Neill OBE, leader of the council, said the ULEZ expansion was likely to be the biggest current risk to vulnerable residents in Bexley.

She said: “We’ve met education providers that are terrified they’re going to lose staff and students as a result of it.

"Some of the emails and letters that I have received personally would break your heart, people that have bought cars on finance that are now possibly going to be worthless, and they can’t replace them.”

Labour Councillor Nicola Taylor said at the meeting that care workers in her ward were already taking the bus to work because of failures in social care by the Conservative Group.

Cllr Taylor said: “You talk about the impact of ULEZ on care workers, yet you ignore the fact that under the Tories, with continued low wages, high petrol charges and the cost of living, most care workers can no longer afford to run a car at all.”

Regarding the council legally challenging the ULEZ expansion, a Mayor of London spokesperson previously told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “Around 4,000 Londoners die prematurely every year due to air pollution.

"The Mayor is determined to protect the lives of Londoners who are growing up with stunted lungs and more at risk of heart disease, cancer and dementia due to our toxic air.

“The Mayor urges the councils involved to abandon this costly and unnecessary legal challenge and instead focus on the health of those they represent.”