The Telegraph has obtained numerous examples of police, fire and ambulances logging delays to 999 calls due to locked bollards and planters used in LTNs.

Videos have also been posted online showing emergency vehicles forced to make U-turns and officers, paramedics or firefighters grappling with locks on bollards to try to get past.

However, cyclist lobby groups claim LTNs make the roads safer for both pedestrians and cyclists.

While the fire brigade data cites “traffic calming” as the cause of the delays, that description may also include schemes other than LTNs, such as speed bumps, 20mph zones, rumble strips and narrowing chicanes.

Overall, traffic calming measures were recorded as affecting two per cent of the 158,972 callouts in 2021, according to the London Fire Brigade.

Fire engines deployed from stations in the borough of Hackney saw the most number of delays due to traffic calming measures, with 168 in 2021, a 66 per cent rise on 2020.

Meanwhile, delays in Lamberth nearly doubled from 83 in 2020 to 160 in 2021. Enfield came third highest, with 158 in 2021, compared to 102 in 2020.

Bexley, Merton and Sutton – all in south London – experienced the fewest delays caused by traffic calming measures, with 27, 35 and 43 respectively.

Ruth Parkinson, a Hackney resident opposed to the rollout of LTNs, said: “Since the introduction of the LTNs, residents have been saying we’ve all seen ambulances and fire services being delayed. We’ve videoed it and uploaded it onto social media. But we have been ignored and even called liars.

“This has endangered lives and it has to stop. Hackney has 70 per cent of closed roads far greater than any other borough so no wonder we’re the most affected.”