On the face of it, a four year jail term for letting down tyres (even the tyres of 80 vehicles) sounds a little steep – but Coimbra judges clearly felt they had no alternative. The defendant, a repeat offender/ petty criminal, who has been in and out of jail over the years, apparently told police after his arrest that he would ‘do it all again, given the chance!’ Surprisingly, there was no solid proof that the man had let down all the car tyres, but his antecedents, and his attitude, appear to have sealed his fate. It could not have helped that three of the vehicles he rendered airless belonged to the local GNR.
