Pedestrian crossing destroyed for the eighth time after mysterious warning to the municipality

Councilors hope that a camera on top of the intersection can shed some light on the identity of the perpetrator.

Mark Hood, Green Party councilor for both the KCC and Tonbridge and Malling council, said: “We have had a whole wave of vandalism at this junction. We’ve been trying to figure out the motivation… It looks like a ransom note.

“We removed the noise from the level crossing because we thought it might trigger someone.

“We installed CCTV at the intersection and worked with the police, but they still decided to attack it.

“The person clearly has a grudge against the council, but none of us know what it’s about.”

‘An attack on every taxpayer’

Mr Hood said the average price to replace the crossing’s panels was £3,500, and the crossing had been damaged at least eight times before.

“I’m trying to add up how many times this has happened and the thousands of euros it has cost. I estimate this has happened about eight times at this intersection.

“Our municipality is aware verge of bankruptcy. We cannot continue to renew the panels. It just seems like their way of getting back at the council, but it’s a tax on every taxpayer in Kent.

“We have to pay for them from the highway budget.”

Last month, the KCC announced that it was facing “significant financial pressure”, as the council had estimated should save £225m the next three years to avoid bankruptcy.

Stolen signal boxes

The council currently has £1.1 billion in outstanding repairs upgrade the highway network meets the required standard, Mr Hood said. The crimes of the mysterious attackers only increase in this tab.

In 2022, the council was forced to pay £32,000 after thieves stole ten signal boxes from three pelican crossings in Tonbridge, the most popular of which was on Shipbourne Road.

The council reportedly suspected these were being sold on eBay as new doorbells after the items were spotted on the site.

“We may have to downgrade the intersection,” Hood said. “That offers no protection for people with disabilities. It’s a real concern.

‘Crude message’ in the gunk

The councilor has taken a closer look at the antics of the grudge holders and stressed that their decision to target an intersection between two schools could impact the safety of the children who use it.

The crossing has been disabled and due to the threatening nature of the message, council staff cannot be put at risk by repairing it, Mr Hood said.

“Hundreds of schoolchildren and elderly people use the crossing every day and there is currently no light.

“We had a crude message scrawled in the gunk on the panel that said ‘F— KCC’.”