A frustrated petrolhead has shared his battle to prove to Transport for London (TfL) that he does not have to pay the £12.50 daily fee to drive in the capital’s newly expanded ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ). 

The scheme was enlarged by London’s Mayor, Sadiq Khan on August 29.

It meant more drivers of non-compliant cars (broadly pre-2005 petrol and pre-2015 diesel) will face the charge.

Stephen Deans, 39, a water treatment engineer who lives in Hornchurch in Essex, said he loves driving his 2004 Mitsubishi Evo manufactured in Japan and imported to the UK. 

He has recently spent £20,000 on upgrades and organised for the vehicle to be tested, and now claims to have a EUROCert document confirming his car is Euro 4 NOx compliant.

READ MORE Mark Drakeford slammed for 20mph ULEZ-style zones over tourist industry fears

TfL’s website states that Euro 4 (NOx) is the required ULEZ grading for “petrol cars, vans, minibuses and other specialist vehicles”.

Mr Deans said he has been in touch with TfL multiple times trying to convince officials that his car should be exempt from the fee, but officials have “completely ignored” all his evidence, reported MyLondon.

He said: “I drive my car maybe once or twice a month and do less than 3,000 miles a year. It mainly lives in my garage as I am collecting it as it’s so rare.

“It’s mainly a weekend car. I don’t drive much in the winter and never ever if it’s raining or wet on the roads.

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“I’ve recently refreshed the car and the whole engine at a significant cost of more than £20,000 so I’m now fully invested in the car as it’s restored. I’m now not in a position to buy another car plus it’s my pride and joy and brings me so much happiness to drive.

“People always wave at me when I drive past and love to take photos next to it and I also let people’s children sit inside and take pictures too when it’s parked in pubic places they love it. This gives me so much joy and sadly all will be coming to an end maybe as it’s pricing me off the road.

“Being told the car is a Japanese import and not the same as a UK car is just nonsense as all these cars are made in Japan and never were made in the U.K. It passes all MOTs in the UK with no advisories which says it’s emissions are ok for UK roads.

“It makes no sense at all. It’s NOx values are widely available at 0.08g/km and even the Japanese inspection organisation have confirmed this as the data they have.”

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“It’s [the expanded ULEZ] affecting me a lot as I mainly drive a work van 23plate but that’s only for work purposes and I do not use for private use as it’s to expensive on my tax with all my expenses living close to London and council tax over £3,000 a year.

“Currently I take care of my mum and dad who are old now which now costs me even more to do every time I go to see them at weekends to make sure they are ok and have all they need. Our freedom is gone.”

A TfL spokesperson said: “Vehicles built for markets outside Europe have different emissions standards and regulations from those needed to comply with ULEZ standards, meaning that we cannot ensure that these vehicles are compliant based on the information non-European manufacturers provide.

“We have advised Mr Deans to contact his manufacturer for a certificate of conformity or to request the relevant proof of emissions standards from them.”

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