Anti-ULEZ campaigners are hanging bat boxes on traffic cameras to stop engineers repairing them.

The £10 animal homes have been spotted attached to ULEZ devices in Chessington, Kingston upon Thames and North Cheam.

A National Trust-branded bat box used by the protestors (Photo: SWNS)

ULEZ opponents say they are "positively contributing to London's biodiversity and ecosystem".

One said: "I'm sure whoever is behind it is extremely grateful to TfL for providing the poles to house this protected species."

THe wildlife protections for bats mean the boxes cannot be disturbed, preventing repairs of nearby traffic cameras (Photo: SWNS)

TfL say it is a crime to interfere with its network of nearly 4,000 cameras.

However ULEZ cameras have been repeatedly targeted by 'Blade Runners': more extreme, anonymous protestors who vandalise or destroy the cameras.

Blade Runners have been destroying or vandalising ULEZ cameras since the ULEZ expansion in August 2023 (Photo: SWNS)

One of the cameras suspected to have been destroyed by a Blade Runner (Photo: SWNS)

There was widespread action against the cameras across nearby Sutton Borough as part of another protest on 11 February, with campaigners using tall placards to obscure the cameras to help motorists of older vehicles avoid paying ULEZ-related fines.

Protestors gather in Sutton Borough to block ULEZ cameras with tall placards on 11 February 2024 (Photo: Ollie G. Monk)

The Stop ULEZ group celebrated its one-year anniversary with a central London protest on Saturday 27 January, which saw campaigners march from Trafalgar Square to Downing Street.

Many are concerned that the expansion of London's Ultra-Low Emissions Zone will soon escalate to include a 'pay per-mile' charge for the capital's motorists.

The anti-ULEZ movement has provoked strong opposition to London Mayor Sadiq Khan (Photo: Ollie G. Monk)

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has addressed these concerns directly, writing in a letter to the Transport for London commissioner Andy Lord this month that he "will not include a new pay-per-mile road user charging scheme or amending the standards for the ULEZ scheme".

It remains to be seen if the mayor's promises will prove effective in dealing with backlash to his expansion of London's ULEZ.