Eco zealots let down tyres of 100 SUVs and 4x4s in a night

ENVIRONMENTAL vigilantes who deflated the tyres of 100 vehicles are being hunted by police.

Activist group The Tyre Extinguishers has taken responsibility for the stunt on Wednesday, claiming it was its ‘largest night of action so far’.

SUVs and 4x4s in areas of Edinburgh including Marchmont, Hillside and the New Town were hit after the group vowed to target more affluent areas.

The incidents began in March when drivers had their tyres deflated and windscreens covered in anti-SUV leaflets. Earlier this month residents in Portobello woke to find they had been targeted.

The group warned its actions are ‘escalating’ and described itself as ‘significant and growing’.

A spokesman for The Edinburgh Tyre Extinguishers said: ‘Politicians talk, we act.

‘We will defend ourselves from air pollution, climate change and unsafe roads.

‘Edinburgh is a small city with good public transport. Nobody living in the centre of town needs to own one of these death machines.’

One Edinburgh resident, Tina Liversidge, 48, had to pay £16 for a taxi to take her children to school after her Land Rover’s tyres were deflated.

She said: ‘It’s a nuisance and it’s a safety concern. If I hadn’t noticed and I drove off with my children in the back, it could have been very different.

‘I don’t think it’s an effective technique, when you consider that to re-inflate the tyres you have to leave the car idling for 20 minutes.

‘Not all families are in a financial position to be able to change their cars.’

A resident of Heriot Row in the New Town, who asked not to be named, said: ‘I care about the environment, we are Greenpeace members, but if you’re playing with my safety and my children’s safety, I don’t like that. I’m going to be checking my car over extra carefully, but if I hadn’t heard about this I wouldn’t have known to do it. It’s dangerous.’

Superintendent Mark Rennie of Police Scotland said: ‘We have received a number of reports of vehicle tyres being deliberately deflated in the Edinburgh area.

‘This is a reckless and potentially dangerous act which could put drivers and road users at risk.

‘Inquiries are ongoing and we would encourage members of the public to call us immediately if they see anyone acting suspiciously close to parked vehicles.’

Owing to the group’s diffuse nature, it is not known exactly how many drivers have been affected by its actions.

A spokesman for the organisation said: ‘The scale of disarmament is an underestimate, as not all Tyre Extinguishers’ groups have been in touch with Tyre Extinguishers HQ to say where and when they have taken action, and Tyre Extinguishers HQ only hear about their actions through angry emails from SUV drivers.

‘For example, it appears Tyre Extinguishers’ actions have also taken place in the last seven days in Leith and Granton.’