Eco-warriors acting against people who own and drive 4x4s in Bristol have struck again - by claiming responsibility for letting down the tyres on 55 vehicles in Clifton overnight.
The self-named 'Tyre Extinguishers' say the 55 vehicles had one tyre let down, with the owner notified by a leaflet left on the windscreen. The group say they 'disarmed' the 55 vehicles in the early hours of this morning, Wednesday, October 26, and that made Bristol the 'most extinguished city in the world'.
There are 'Tyre Extinguisher' groups across the world, and the campaign's website appears to be keeping score of the number of vehicles that have been targeted. Bristol activists are claiming they have so far let down tyres on 504 vehicles since the campaign began in February this year, with Paris second, a couple of hundred vehicles behind.
Read more: Is it illegal to deflate someone's tyres? Tyre Extinguishers protest explained
The activists say they are 'disabling' 4x4 and SUV vehicles in cities as they are the most polluting and dangerous, and they say no one needs to own one in a city. The group has also targeted electric 4x4 vehicles, much to the fury of one 4x4 EV owner, with the Tyre Extinguishers stating that even electric vehicles are statistically more dangerous to other road users, particularly cyclists and pedestrians.
The Tyre Extinguishers' activities have so far largely centred around some of Bristol's more affluent areas, including Clifton, Westbury-on-Trym, Henleaze and Stoke Bishop. A statement issued by the group said: "There has been fierce competition between Bristol Tyre Extinguishers and Paris groups for the title of the most extinguished city in the world. Bristol again lays down the challenge to Paris Tyre Extinguishers to match their actions. Paris and Bristol are at the moment the cities in the world where the Tyre Extinguishers have struck the most."
In July, 90 vehicles were targeted in Clifton, and back in early September, the Tyre Extinguishers said they deflated the tyres on almost 100 4x4s in Bristol, as part of a co-ordinated action which saw 600 vehicles around the world targeted. The Tyre Extinguishers' actions have thrown up a grey area of the law. While the police have been warning people about the campaign and investigating it as criminal damage, it is not explicitly clear whether the actions are illegal - although it probably is. If the person letting down the tyre does not damage it in doing so, then it cannot be criminal damage, but it probably breaks at least one of other laws, and could be criminal damage if the driver damages their car driving off on a flat tyre, anyway.
Letting someone's tyre down without permission is not specifically listed as an offence in law, it could come under a couple of other umbrella terms. First, the road traffic act 1988 states: "A person is guilty of an offence if he intentionally and without lawful authority or reasonable cause ... interferes with a motor vehicle, trailer or cycle." It would be for a judge to decide if letting a tyre down constitutes "interfering with a motor vehicle", since it is not listed specifically in the act, but common sense seems to suggest it would count.
Secondly, "vehicle interference" is also listed in the criminal attempts act 1981, but this act states the interference must be carried out with the intention of stealing the vehicle or something within it. Letting air out would therefore almost certainly not be an offence here.
Finally, it is theoretically possible that letting air out of tyres could be considered a "public nuisance" - a common law offence (an offence that has been deemed unlawful by precedent in the courts rather than by legislation in writing) that will likely come into the statute books soon under the government's police, crime, sentencing, and courts bill.
Letting someone's tyres down without their permission is definitely a nuisance; the only sticking point would be whether the offence caused a nuisance to the public, or just one individual. Since this group is letting the air out of multiple people's cars, however, it is possible a judge would conclude the actions taken as a whole were causing a nuisance to the public.
Read more: Tyre Extinguishers - a timeline
- Mar 2022: Is it illegal to deflate someone's tyres? Tyre Extinguishers protest explained
- Apr 2022: Eco-warriors have let down tyres on 2,000 vehicles across Britain
- Apr 2022: Who are these climate vigilantes?
- May 2022: Climate activists Tyre Extinguishers deflate 50 SUVs in Clifton
- May 2022: Bristol SUV owner 'p***** off' after climate activists deflate his tyres
- June 2022: Tyres of 40 SUVs deflated overnight
- July 2022: Climate activists extinguish tyres on 90 cars in Clifton
- July 2022: Tyre Extinguishers spotted and stopped in Redland
- Sep 2022: Tyre Extinguishers deflate tyres of nearly 100 SUVs in Bristol
- Sep 2022: Tyre Extinguishers letter was 'insulting' says 78-year-old targeted by campaign
- Sep 2022: Tyre Extinguisher activists let down electric 4x4 tyres in Bristol
- Sep 2022: People 'confused' as environmental activists let down electric SUV's tyres
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