Activists deflate tyres on SUVs in Edinburgh

Some streets in Edinburgh's New Town had 10 or more vehicles with their tyres deflated

Climate activists have deflated tyres on dozens of SUV vehicles parked in an upmarket area of Edinburgh.

Drivers in the capital's New Town area found their vehicles targeted by a group called The Tyre Extinguishers.

The campaigners have branded them "polluting death machines" and argue that city residents with good public transport links do not need them.

At least 100 vehicles were targeted. Police Scotland said enquiries were ongoing.

The activists left leaflets on windscreens telling owners their "gas guzzler kills" and "SUVs and 4x4s are a disaster for our climate".

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There are now over 200 million SUVs around the world, six times the number in 2010. Larger and heavier cars consume more fuel than smaller ones.

Research published in April 2021 found that three-quarters of all SUVs sold in the UK are registered to people living in towns and cities.

Campaigners left leaflets on the windscreens of SUV owners telling them their "gas guzzler kills"

The Tyre Extinguishers claim SUVs are the "second-largest cause of the global rise in carbon dioxide emissions over the past decade - more than the entire aviation industry."

"There are so many SUVs in the New Town that we ran out of leaflets," added a statement from the group. "We'll be back."

Another activist group, Tyred of SUVs, carried out a similar action in Glasgow last November while the city hosted the COP26 climate conference.