Up to 6,500 vehicles a day could be breaking the width restrictions in the Rotherhithe Tunnel, according to Transport for London. Around 30,000 vehicles use the tunnel each day.

TfL this week wrote to local people reminding them that vehicles more than two metres (six foot six inches) wide are not permitted through the Rotherhithe Tunnel.

Wide vehicles, generally vans or bigger, were banned from the tunnel in 2012.

Glynn Barton, TfL’s Director of Network Management, said: “These restrictions are in place for very important reasons. This tunnel is more than a century old and was not designed for these types of vehicle so vans and wider vehicles risk colliding inside it, increasing road danger and disruption in the area.

“We brought these restrictions in six years ago and we are reminding Londoners that they are there and why they are so important.”

TfL has identified that up to 6,500 vehicles wider than the restrictions could be entering the tunnel every day, despite the signage on all approaches highlighting the restrictions.

Vehicles that use the tunnel illegally risk receiving a fine of £50 or prosecution.

Drivers restricted from the Rotherhithe Tunnel should use Tower Bridge or the Blackwall Tunnel – both of which are outside of the Congestion Charge.