A GROUP calling themselves The Leeds Tyre Extinguishers have today (Wednesday) let down tyres on 85 SUVs around Leeds and its suburbs including Meanwood.

The group said it was taking emergency action to let down the tyres adding: "We are a group of ordinary people terrified by the complete unwillingness of governments, corporations and individuals to combat the climate and nature crisis. We have acted for our family and friends, children at school now and all the many people we will never meet who are already suffering and dying from the consequences of this inaction.

"The threat to all of our lives is dire and irreversible. Yet we have so many solutions at our fingertips, just waiting to be deployed, for the benefit of all. SUVs however - even electric ones - are simply not compatible with a liveable future. We must all ask ourselves what we can do in this time, together, to create the change needed to avoid the worst impacts.

"We have only deflated tyres using the valves, so there is no irreversible damage and we have taken care to avoid blue badge holders' and traders' cars."

A leaflet placed on the targeted vehicles reads:

ATTENTION – your gas guzzler kills.

We have deflated one or more of your tyres.

You’ll be angry - don’t take this personally. It’s not you, it’s your car.

We did this because driving around urban areas in your massive vehicle has huge consequences for others.

Car companies try to convince us we need massive cars. But SUVs and 4x4s are a disaster for our climate. SUVs are the second-largest cause of the global rise in carbon dioxide emissions over the past decade - more than the entire aviation industry.

The world is facing a climate emergency. According to the UN, millions of people are already dying from climate-change related causes – drought, hurricanes, floods, forced migration, starvation. So far, the impacts on you have probably been minimal. But, two weeks ago the UK saw a record 40.3˚C – this is scary in itself. What’s terrifying is the knock-on effects that extreme weather is increasingly having on our food supply globally.

Even if you don’t care about these future impacts and current impacts on people far away from you, there’s consequences for your neighbours. SUVs cause more air pollution than smaller cars. SUVs are more likely to kill people in collisions than normal cars. Psychological studies show SUV drivers are more likely to take risks on the road. SUVs are pure vanity and unnecessary.

We need emergency action to reduce emissions immediately, for everyone’s lives. We wish we didn’t have to, but we are taking action into our own hands because our governments and politicians will not.

That’s why we have taken this action. Please ask yourself how you can use walking, cycling and public transport instead.

(Driving a hybrid or electric? These are still polluting, dangerous and cause congestion. We have avoided deflating Blue Badge holder cars. See more on our website.)