Activists ‘let down tyres of 50 SUVs’

ACTIVISTS claim to have deflated the tyres of 50 SUVs in the Clifton area of Bristol this week.

The campaign group, which calls itself the Tyre Extinguishers, came to prominence earlier this year when they claimed to have deflated the tyres of hundreds of vehicles.

They say they are leading a new movement across the country encouraging people to take action against urban SUVs. They have previously claimed they specifically target affluent areas of the UK.

In a statement, the group said: “This is to let you know that on Tuesday evening, Bristol Tyre Extinguishers disarmed 50 SUVs in the Clifton area of Bristol.

“Bristol is living through an air pollution and climate crisis, and we won’t stop until these monster vehicles disappear from our streets.”

The group said their actions have now taken place in more than 20 locations across the UK, as well as Germany, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Arizona, Colorado and New Zealand since the start of March. It said they estimate they have deflated nearly 3,000 SUVs.

The Tyre Extinguishers describes itself as “leaderless”.

Activists are urged to avoid SUVs “clearly used” by people with disabilities or by tradespersons.

The New Scientist reported how global analysis found the rise of SUVs last year wiped out the environmental gains from electric cars.

Last year, one of the UK’s most popular selling cars was a Kia Sportage SUV, according to Auto Express.

SUVs emit 25 per cent more carbon dioxide on average than a medium-sized car, and have jumped in popularity in the UK from nearly seven per cent of private cars sold in the UK in 2009 to more than 21 per cent in 2018, according to the UK energy Research Centre.