Hi All
Have a read of the following.
www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk and click on the article: "Sian goes to war on 4x4s".
SIAN GOES TO WAR ON 4X4S
10:30 - 17 November 2004 Former Pate's girl Sian Berry is leading a national campaign against townees who use gas-guzzling off-road vehicles. The 30-year-old environmentalist is the founder of new environmental pressure group Alliance Against Urban 4x4s.
She and fellow founders Hayley Rolfe and Susie Edwards have printed 80,000 mock parking tickets which they stick on off-road vehicles.
They say it is irresponsible to use them solely in towns because they use too much fuel and emit high levels of carbon dioxide which harm the environment.
Campaigners have targeted 4x4s in London, Bristol and Manchester as well as smaller towns in Dorset and Oxfordshire.
They staged a demonstration outside a car dealership in Kensington, urging passers-by to boycott what they call the "Chelsea tractor".
Now the group is targeting 4x4 drivers in Cheltenham.
The leaflets, which look like tickets handed out by traffic wardens, say: "It ought to be a criminal offence to drive around in a vehicle that does this much damage."
They go on to say: "Who led you to believe you needed a three-tonne off-roader to get to the gym/take your kids to school/ commute to a business park/ trek to Homebase on a Bank Holiday?"
On the back, the tickets show Government statistics on fuel costs and emissions.
Sian moved to London from her family home in Springbank in 1997.
Her father John, who still lives in Cheltenham, is her latest recruit for the sticker blitz.
The web manager, who plans to stand in the next election as a Green Party candidate, was spurred to launch her campaign when she was living in London.
She said: "Lots of people there have these 4x4s.
"They were driving me crazy because I knew they were very environmentally dirty.
"And they can be very dangerous in an accident."
Inspired by similar pressure groups in the United States, Sian formed the Alliance Against Urban 4x4s this summer.
Since then, her placard-waving campaign has featured on television and in the press.
Sian and her friends are sending out their mock tickets to protest groups up and down the country.
They hope to lobby the Government for higher taxes on 4x4s, a ban on advertising and higher congestion charges in London.
Sian, who does not own a car, said: "It's amazing the interest that it's caused. The vast majority of people who don't have a 4x4 are in favour of stopping them.
"I had one bad reaction where someone drove past me and shouted and threw the ticket at me.
"They're not designed to annoy people. They're not abusive."
Sian's father John, 59, is a former Cheltenham Rugby Club player and a retired Pate's Grammar School teacher.
He drives a Ford Focus and has been targeting 4x4s parked in Cheltenham.
He said: "We're not trying to target farmers and people who need one of these cars. It's people who buy them and use them as a normal car.
"There's no reason to have one unless you're going to use it for what it's designed to do - go off road or in to the countryside."
More than 200 people have signed up to the Alliance via its website -
www.stopurban4x4s.org.uk - but other environmental pressure groups like Greenpeace have lent their support.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders represents car makers and dealers across Britain.
Spokesman Paul Everitt said: "There are many which are no more or less economic than a normal family saloon or estate. Even the Fiat Panda comes in a 4x4."
Mr Everitt said manufacturers were working hard to improve emissions, economy and safety and urged drivers to choose new cars responsibly.
He said: "If the majority of your journeys are in a urban or suburban environment you don't need a 4x4 vehicle."
