Eco activists let down tyres of ‘Chelsea Tractors’ using lentils

CLIMATE activists have declared war on “Chelsea Tractors” as they let down hundreds of tyres in middle-class neighbourhoods.

A group calling itself Tyre Extinguishers targeted hundreds of SUVS in cities including London, Bristol and Brighton on Monday and told drivers to walk, cycle or take public transport.

In instructions published online, activists were encouraged to “target posh/middle-class areas” and deflate the tyres of large four-wheel drive cars using lentils or couscous, which are placed inside the tyre valve, pushing down on the pin inside of it to let air out.

Electric cars as well as petrol and diesel vehicles were targeted as the group said these were still “polluting, dangerous and cause congestion”.

The group promised to carry on targeting SUVS until they were banned or “taxed out of existence” as they said air pollution was “racist” and SUV drivers “tend to be richer, and therefore tend to be white”.

A representative for Tyre Extinguishers said: “Members are free to repeat the action whenever works for them, so it could happen tonight, and the night after, etc. We will repeat this until it is impossible to own an SUV in Britain.”

Police in Brighton and Cambridge are investigating, with Cambridgeshire Constabulary treating the incidents as suspected criminal damage.

The Metropolitan Police said: “We are aware of a statement by Tyre Extinguishers alleging damage to vehicles at various locations in London by them.

“At this time, we are not aware of any investigations being launched.” Tyre Extinguishers said it had “no official connection with any other movement”.

Last year, motorways around London and the South were blocked by Insulate Britain, an Extinction Rebellion splinter group calling for the Government to fund mass home insulation.

Kate Basker, 33, from Bristol, who runs a digital marketing agency with her husband, said finding her tyres let down had made her worry about missing crucial hospital appointments.

She is pregnant and also has multiple sclerosis meaning she sometimes relies on the car to get around when she cannot walk or use public transport.

She said: “Our car is on a public street, we can’t have it off the road. I now feel quite vulnerable that someone is going to keep doing this to us, and it’s going to happen on a day when I really need it. It’s just indiscriminate harassment of people.”

‘I feel quite vulnerable that someone is going to keep doing this to us, and on a day when I really need it’