A new tactic of wearing dinosaur costumes to block ULEZ mobile camera vans is being used by campaigners opposed to the extension of the rules.

Paul Sullivan, from Belvedere, has been dressing up as one in Bexley and has since got support from five other people joining him in different-coloured costumes.

The 36-year-old, who wears an orange dinosaur outfit, said he wanted to show his disdain for the "audacity" of the new ultra low emission zones.

The ULEZ scheme expanded across all of London's boroughs - including to the Kent border - on August 29.

It means anyone driving within the new catchment area has to pay a daily charge of £12.50 if their vehicle does not meet the required emissions standards.

This affects drivers owning petrol vehicles registered before 2005 and diesel vehicles registered before 2015.

It has led to the controversial scheme affecting many motorists, including Mr Sullivan.

However, the civil engineer decided to take his own course of action by asking his wife for an 8ft dinosaur outfit for his birthday last week.

After arriving almost immediately, he has been hitting streets across Bexley and targeting up to three different mobile camera vans a day.

Labelling himself as a “blocker”, Mr Sullivan explained: "It's been a spur-of-the-moment thing.

"I saw a video of two people in dinosaur costumes h*****g a police car and thought it was hilarious.

"So as last week was my birthday, and my wife kept asking me what I wanted. I said nothing at first but then asked her for a costume.

"As soon as it arrived, I jumped straight in it and have gone out for I believe four days so far - some days multiple times.

"In my group there are six of us who own an orange, blue, pink, purple, black and red outfit, and we have a WhatsApp group which we speak on daily.

"It's the audacity of it which got me doing this, as it feels just enforced onto people."

Although Mr Sullivan says the costumes aren't the most comfortable due to their muggy nature, he says their design is key for what they're trying to achieve.

He added: "The outfits get rather stuffy when you're in them.

"They have a fan which keeps them inflated, and we have a high capacity power bank in our pockets which we pop them into.

"But we're waving and bobbing around, so you have to come out for a breather and poke your face out for a bit after four hours as it's like being in a tent - they're also not waterproof either.

"But they are tall enough to stand in front of a ULEZ camera and block it, so their design is absolutely perfect."

He says he is carrying out the lawful, and peaceful, demonstration as a way of showing his lack of support for Mayor of London Sadiq Khan's updated measures.

According to figures from ULEZ.co.uk, there are roughly 2,800 cameras now circulating around London.

And since beginning the new trend last week, he insists the support the group has been receiving is unlike anything he imagined.

"It's been fantastic," he explained.

"I still can't fathom the reception we have received so far - nine out of 10 cars are tooting us supporting what we're doing.

"I have friends and colleagues who have been affected financially by ULEZ and that's why I'm getting behind this sort of thing.

"TfL (Transport for London) seem to be targeting places where there are a lot of vehicles, so you hear the Mayor of London trying to help parents with school dinners, but then doing this which seems very counter-productive - it's robbing Peter to pay Paul."

He continued: "We use websites like Juliemaps which allows us to see where vans are operating and then go from there, and have targeted about six locations so far.

"We also rely on a social media group called 'ULEZ Mobile Van Locations,' which has 11,000 people involved who share where the vans are and at what time - and they're known as spotters."