ENVIRONMENTAL activists claim to have deflated more than 250 tyres on SUVs in the city overnight.

The Tyre Extinguishers said its supporters have taken action across Brighton in an attempt to “make it impossible” to own the vehicles in urban areas.

It says the latest round of action shows an “escalation” in the campaign to tackle SUVS, which it describes as “a climate disaster”, “dangerous” and “unnecessary”.

SUVs feature elements of standard cars but are larger and have off-road capabilities such as high ground clearance.

Marion Walker, spokesman for the Tyre Extinguishers said: "It's exciting to see how fast the campaign is spreading.

“Anyone can join in where they are. We want to see SUVs put in the dustbin of history, and this is the fastest way to do it."

The group had previously declared Brighton and Hove “the most extinguished city in the UK”, with more tyres deflated here than anywhere else in the country.

Cars in Preston Park, Balfour Road, Lowther Road and Maldon Road in Brighton, The Drive in Hove and Newells Close in Woodingdean, were targeted in a two-month period.

Drivers woke up to find at least one of their tyres had been let down and a leaflet stating “your gas guzzler kills” placed on their windscreen.

The Tyre Extinguishers describes itself as “leaderless” and encourages people to take action by reading instructions on how to deflate tyres on its website.

People can also print off leaflets to leave on the windscreen of affected vehicles to inform drivers what has happened.

Activists are urged to avoid SUVs “clearly used” by people with disabilities or by tradespersons.

The group, which first took action on March 7, said it has now had interest internationally, with similar groups forming in Germany, Switzerland, The Netherlands, the United States of America and New Zealand.

Marion Walker said: “Unless a bobby is posted beside every SUV in the country 24 hours a day, we don’t expect anyone to be apprehended.

“Better to break the law than allow these killer vehicles to continue to be used on our streets.”