Activists struck in the dead of night to deflate the tyres of dozens of “Chelsea Tractors” in retaliation for a Land Rover crash that killed two children at a Wimbledon school.
The group, calling themselves The Tyre Extinguishers, used a lentil to let the air out of the wheels of 28 Sports Utility Vehicles parked overnight on Saturday in Chelsea.
They claimed no lasting damage was done to the vehicles they referred to as “child killers”.
They said: “Not only can they pollute more than normal cars, take up more space on the road, and require more resources to manufacture, they are also significantly more dangerous to other road users.
“This was made critically obvious only last month, when on the July 6 two children were killed in a crash involving a Land Rover SUV at a primary school in Wimbledon.”
A 46-year-old woman from Wimbledon was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving, and has since been bailed, after a Land Rover smashed through a fence into the school in Wimbledon on July 6 killing Nuria Sajjad and Selena Lau.
They added: “The use of SUVs in urban environments is inconsiderate at the least, and fatal at worst. We are demanding safer streets and a livable future. This is why we have taken action today.”
People hit back at the action online asking the activists to strike in their area.
One said: “ So you took ‘direct action’ against people who broke no laws, possibly leaving doctors, police, etc immobilised and unable to respond to calls, all for your own egos.”
It followed the group posting a video online in an action targeting around 60 vehicles during a raid on a Land Rover dealership in Exeter.
