My rear license plate lights have developed a mind of their own.

Since my neighbour first told me about this problem I have been watching carefully and this is what is happening:

I leave the car at night, I take out the keys and check that all lights are off. At some point later in the night, they turn themselves back on, but only sometimes. At the moment its about 2 or 3 times a week. My worry is that it is a strain on the battery, and one day when I really need it, it wont start.

Any suggestions would be welcome about what the problem is and how to fix it.

What are these lights for anyway? Are they a legal requirement, or can I just take the fuse out, or is that fuse connected to other, more important lights?

Yes its connected to the dash pod lights.Well I hope so cos I just blew mine fiddling with numberplate bulbs and the dash illumination has gone out too. So I assume its on the same circuit.

BTW:

Its illegal not to have a lit numberplate at night too

Don't worry too much about them draining the battery. The number plate bulbs are low wattage and would take a long time to flattern the battery.

Thanks for the info so far, just a follow up then, can anyone suggest how I can turn them off when I am not using the car for a few days? Is there a simple way of disabling and re enabling them?