Wimbledon school crash ‘retaliation’ sees activists destroy tyres at Land Rover dealership

‘Non-violent demonstration’ aims to highlight ‘presence of grossly inappropriate private vehicles,’ group says

Police at the scene of the crash (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Scores of vehicles at a Land Rover dealership have been sabotaged in “retaliation” for the crash which killed two young girls and injured many others at a primary school in Wimbledon, activists have claimed.

Two eight-year-old girls were killed and more than a dozen others injured after a motorist crashed through an end-of-term tea party at The Study Preparatory School last month.

The driver, a 46-year-old woman, who was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving, has since been released on bail.

The Tyre Extinguishers (TX), a direct action group which claims to have since deflated tyres on thousands of SUVs in cities across Europe since its establishment in 2022, has now published details of an action it claims is “retaliation” for the school crash.

The group claims that tyres on some 60 SUVs at a Land Rover dealership in Exeter – some 150 miles from Wimbledon – had been “destroyed” by activists on Sunday night.

“This act of retaliation, is intended as a peaceful and non-violent demonstration to draw attention to the presence of grossly inappropriate private vehicles in our towns and cities,” the group said on X, formerly Twitter.

A spokesperson for Vertu Motors, which owns the Jaguar Exeter dealership, said in a statement: “Trespass and damage to private property are not acceptable. The matter is now in the hands of the police.”

Devon and Cornwall Police confirmed that it was “aware of criminal damage having occurred at Jaguar dealership in Matford, Exeter”, adding: “Enquiries continue.”

A Land Rover Defender is seen inside the grounds of The Study Preparatory School (Yui Mok/PA)

Pointing to US-based research published last September suggesting that SUV’s are eight times more likely to kill children in crashes than smaller cars, the group said: “TX express their deepest condolences to the families of two young girls who lost their lives in the heart-wrenching killing. They also wish swift recovery to the other 15 victims.”

It added: “The crash took on 6th July has left the community devastated and mourning. TX firmly believes that their action is a necessary escalation to try and stop these vehicles from wrecking further lives and continuing to push the worsening climate crisis [off] the cliff edge.”

One activist said: “We urge our politicians to legislate for more robust law enforcement and government policy, we have to rein in our car brained culture where people are being killed daily by drivers.”

The decentralised group claimed in November to have let down the tyres on some 10,000 vehicles in its first eight months, and claimed to be aware of roughly 100 autonomous groups across the world taking action against SUVs.

With a stated aim of “making it impossible to own” an SUV or 4x4 in an urban area, the group warns that such vehicles “are a disaster for our health, our public safety and our climate”, adding: “Because governments and politicians have failed to protect us from this danger, we must protect ourselves.”