Moment Ulez ‘blade runner’ dubbed the Phantom Sticker Man is caught on video as he puts hundreds of Sadiq Khan’s cameras out of action

• Footage shows the figure slapping a sticker on the camera before running away  

This is the moment a Ulez blade runner dubbed the Phantom Sticker Man was caught on video as he put hundreds of Sadiq Khan’s cameras out of action. 

The figure – dressed head to toe in black and wearing a balaclava and gloves – was seen climbing up a pole to slap a sticker on a camera in the dead of night last weekend. 

According to anti-Ulez campaigners, he is responsible for sticking hundreds of stickers on the controversial cameras across London following their introduction in August.

Footage of his one-man anti-Ulez campaign was captured by blade runner Matt Hardy, who runs a popular anti-ULEZ TikTok channel dedicated to following the exploits of protestors.

In a video uploaded on Sunday morning with the caption ‘Phantom sticker man caught red handed’, he walks towards the man as he climbs a camera pole in Uxbridge, west London.

A figure was seen climbing up a pole to slap a sticker on a Ulez camera in the dead of night last weekend

Footage of his one-man anti-Ulez campaign was captured by blade runner Matt Hardy

The film shows the campaigner caught red-handed shinning up a pole and slapping a sticker on a ULEZ camera

Mr Hardy says: ‘Hold up, there’s a shady looking character up here, folks.

‘We’ll try and keep quiet, we don’t want to disturb him. What’s he doing here, folks?

‘Looks like it’s the phantom sticker man about. We’ve caught him. We’ve got the phantom sticker man.

‘We’re not going to make a scene here, folks. We are just going to watch what’s going on.’ 

He adds: ‘Where is he going? Is he going to do another one?’

The film shows the campaigner caught red-handed shinning up a pole and slapping a sticker on a Ulez camera, before scarpering on a bike.

Mr Hardy then looks at all the Ulez cameras on that junction and finds them all covered by stickers, which appear to say ‘London needs you’ on them.

‘I caught the sticker man red-handed there. I can’t believe it,’ he adds.

Zooming in on another covered camera, he says: ‘That one’s nobbled too!’

‘How exciting, what a night. We caught the phantom sticker man. I think he’s done ’em all folks.

‘No messing around, that nimble sticker man.’

The figure then flees the scene after slapping the sticker over the camera 

Ulez came into force in every London borough at the end of August in a bid by Sadiq Khan to further cut air pollution

Ulez came into force in every London borough at the end of August in a bid by Sadiq Khan to further cut air pollution.

Drivers of older, polluting cars now have to pay £12.50 to drive within the zone – with 95 per cent now compliant.

The scheme is also a huge money spinner.

Transport for London handed out £400million worth of fines to motorists who failed to pay the charge over a 16-month period between January 2022 and April 2023.

Since the zone was expanded three months ago, hundreds of cameras and vans have been vandalised.

Some cameras have been set on fire while others have been chopped down or covered in stickers so they don’t work.

Many congratulated ‘sticker man’ but others did say his actions were dumb.

‘Love the phantom sticker man,’ one said.

‘Good lad,’ said another, before one added: ‘Sticker man is so cool!’

‘Ah you were so close to catching the sticker bandit. Maybe next time,’ one said sarcastically.

‘Great work sticker man,’ said another, while one dubbed him a ‘legend.’

But another grumpily added: ‘It’s costing us people that work more tax.’

A Met Police spokesperson said: ‘The Met continues to treat criminal activity in relation to ULEZ seriously and has deployed considerable resources to our operation. 

‘Where there are possible lines of enquiry, local investigators will follow up using a range of investigative approaches including CCTV trawls, witness searches and an assessment of forensic opportunities.’ 

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