Steps damaged after motorist drives down public footpath in Kensington

By Hannah Neary, Local Democracy Reporter

A hunt is underway to catch a driver who drove down a concrete staircase and smashed it to bits in one of London’s poshest areas.

Officials are trying to catch a motorist who drove a Mercedes Jeep down a publilc footpath and steps in Kensington.

Kensington and Chelsea Council hopes CCTV footage of the incident will help them catch the driver, who could be charged with reckless driving.

A council spokesperson said the incident occurred in the early hours of Sunday, October 10.

A witness said they saw the Jeep race down Walmer Road four times within an hour.

Cllr Johnny Thalassites, the council’s lead member for environment, said: “This sort of driving is senseless and has pulled staff and cash away from other road maintenance for a day.

“We need to make the best use of the resources we have to serve our communities, especially as we recover from the effects of the pandemic.

“This is not a good use of our time – I’m just glad officers could get it sorted so quickly.”

The driver damaged a public route between Hippodrome Place and Walmer Road, which cost the council £473 to fix.

The authority plans to recover the cost of the repairs from the driver if they are caught.

A council spokesperson said residents have complained about collisions and near-misses along the route before between mopeds, bikes, and pedestrians.

The authority plans to install a new cycle route along there to separate bikes and mopeds from pedestrians and is waiting for funding from Transport for London.

The council recently agreed to install more noise cameras in the borough, to tackle antisocial drivers “who think they’re The Stig”.

Chelsea residents have complained street racers are keeping them up at night with loud exhausts while other drivers have been caught racing or revving in Sloane Street and Pont Street.