$re = '/(?<=>)\s*|\s*(?=<a)/m';
$str = ' <a rel="nofollow noopener" style="display:inline; text-decoration: none;" href="">
<img border="0" class="full" height="auto" width="300" alt="" src="http://via.placeholder.com/600x338">
</a>
<a rel="nofollow noopener" style="display:inline; text-decoration: none;" href="">
<img border="0" class="full" height="auto" width="300" alt="" src="http://via.placeholder.com/600x338">
</a>
<a rel="nofollow noopener" style="display:inline; text-decoration: none;" href="">
<img border="0" class="full" height="auto" width="300" alt="" src="http://via.placeholder.com/600x338">
</a>
<a rel="nofollow noopener" style="display:inline; text-decoration: none;" href="">
<img border="0" class="full" height="auto" width="300" alt="" src="http://via.placeholder.com/600x338">
</a>';
$subst = "";
$result = preg_replace($re, $subst, $str);
echo "The result of the substitution is ".$result;
Please keep in mind that these code samples are automatically generated and are not guaranteed to work. If you find any syntax errors, feel free to submit a bug report. For a full regex reference for PHP, please visit: http://php.net/manual/en/ref.pcre.php