Green group tickets cars

Updated 09.06 Thu Sep 18 2008
Keywords: petrol, SUVs, London, roads, Mitchell, Sarah, Urban, Against, Alliance, Earth, the, of, Friends, guzzler, gas, 4x4, landrover, cars

A London environmental group has been issuing fake parking tickets to "gas guzzling" cars such as Landrovers and SUVs.

The Alliance Against Urban 4x4s members have been walking London streets looking for car owners.

"People think they have a ticket, they take a look and it's actually a message about how unsafe their 4x4 is and how much it is polluting the environment" - Sarah Mitchell

The group's co-founder, Sarah Mitchell, said it is a fun way of getting the message across.

She said: "People think they have a ticket, they take a look and it's actually a message about how unsafe their 4x4 is and how much it is polluting the environment."

Manufacturers of 4x4s and SUVs are closing factories as rising oil prices and the credit crunch bite into petrol spending.

In Switzerland, there's even a movement for a referendum on banning sports utility vehicles.

But lawyer Juliet, a mum of two from North London, doesn't feel guilty about driving her landrover in the city: "It's comfortable and I don't think I'm using it irresponsibly."

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