What are these components that detect paper in a fax scanner

[waigy]

PROBLEM SOLVED
I DIDN'T REALISE MY SMALLEST SOLDERING TIP COULD JUST FIT BETWEEN THESE COMPONENTS.
I MANAGED TO REMOVE THEM WITH NO DAMAGE TO THE BOARD AND I HAVE MY INTENDED END RESULT.

On a Possio PM70 portable fax machine which has a scanner that detects when you push a piece of paper into the scanner slot.
It is these two small (3mm long) components that detect the paper and start the scanner feed motor which pulls the paper into the scanner.
(These are on the circuit board for the keypad and not the main board)

I want to disable these as I am using the board in a project that will have some plastic close enough to these sensors to trigger the scanner.

How can I either disable them or remove them from the board (I have removed the scanner and its feed motor).

I realise if I just pull them off the board it might damage the traces and could cause the traces to short to each other.

[lotas]

Re: What are these components that detect paper in a fax scanner

One of them (yellow end) is an infrared LED, the other (black end) is a photodetector.