Activists inspired by Robin Hood have used glue to sabotage key boxes that provide access to short-term rental apartments in Rome, escalating their campaign against growing tourism.

The anonymous group conducted a night-time blitz on about 80 lockboxes in Trastevere, a historic district of cobbled lanes and piazzas that has seen a boom in tourists staying in apartments rented on Airbnb and other platforms.

The activists squirted glue into the combination number codes so the boxes could no longer be opened, and left behind stickers bearing an image of a Robin Hood hat.

“We are sabotaging the symptoms of an unjust society,” the activists said in a statement.

“A home is a right, not a goose that lays golden eggs. Rents are rising and the number of people being evicted [from rental properties] is sky high.”