‘Just cut the wires’: why UK conspiracy theorists are destroying traffic scanners

Sensors that monitor vehicle volume are said to be electronic assault weapons' by the Blade Runners' group

At the top of an extendable ladder on a quiet street of Ilfracombe, in Devon, an older woman dressed smartly in cropped trousers, a red rain jacket and matching red socks is chopping at some wires at the top of a set of traffic lights with a small pair of pliers.

A grey-haired man holding a takeaway coffee supports the ladder, while others, filming their activities, give encouragement from behind the camera. Yeah, that's how you do it," says one man. Just cut the wires."