Caravan Insurance

4x4 owners have been warned to be vigilant following reports that environmental activists are letting out the air on 4x4 tyres.

Environmental groups from across northern Europe are claiming that the practice is not illegal if the vehicles sustain no damage.

A Belgian organisation claims to have deflated the tyres of 137 4x4 vehicles on December 14th alone.

The movement began in Paris last year, and has now moved to a number of countries including the UK.

Sian Berry, of the British Alliance Against Urban 4x4s, told the Times her organisation had been contacted by its French counterparts about the new campaign.

"Our initial reaction was that it's quite amusing, and clever to have established that they aren't breaking the law. But if just one person needs to go to hospital in a hurry and their 4x4 has a flat tyre, the joke won't seem so funny. The campaign will be finished," she said.

The British group instead advocates the placing of pretend parking tickets on windscreens, containing information about the environmental damage the vehicle is causing.

The Association des Constructeurs Européens d'Automobiles claims the number of 4x4s in the European Union has more than doubled between 1998 and the end of 2004.