Nails in Tyres

I've just had a puncture caused by a nail that I think I picked up driving up Memorial Avenue.

I'm not the only one! I understand at least 20 local residents, mainly of Binfield Heath, have suffered similar incidents in the past week or so and the common belief in Binfield Heath is that most of these incidents have resulted from nails being deliberately placed under the wheels of parked cars (in some cases when parked in drives). The nails are all the same - a square twist nail 100mm in length. (See picture). This length of nail can ruin not only a tyre but also a wheel. I was lucky - the tyre was repairable and the wheel damage was slight!

The police are tracking these incidents so if you have had the misfortune to be affected you may wish to report it to them.

Posted by: Gareth Jones | 31/07/2019 5:12 pm

I reported my puncture to the police, as suggested by Thames View Tyres. TVP responded asking me for further details which I gave, then replied to say they had no active lines of enquiry so the crime would be held on record and would I like victim support counselling? There are many other instances of punctures with nails the same as caused the damage to my tyre - several on the Binfield Heath Village Community FB page. We have a photo of the nail.

Posted by: Karen Peters | 04/08/2019 12:01 pm

In response to a private response asking whether these incidents might be linked to recent correspondence about parking on Memorial Avenue I'd suggest this is very unlikely. Most of the incidents I've been aware of have been in specific parts of Binfield Heath. Also, if they were related I would have thought a more readily available type of nail would have been used.

Posted by: Gareth Jones | 01/08/2019 8:36 am

Cheers Gareth

Posted by: Doug Cookson | 31/07/2019 10:24 pm

I used the rather cumbersome Thames Valley website - www.thamesvalley.police.uk/ro/report/ocr/how-to-report-a-crime/ . The alternative would be to dial 101. I haven't got an incident number as yet (and don't know what numbers have already been given) - I assume they'll collate my report with the others they've had.

Posted by: Gareth Jones | 31/07/2019 7:40 pm

On 26 July I drove through Binfield & had to pull to the side of the road to avoid a large lorry. Believed I’d got a puncture & limped ~800m home at <5mph. My tyre was shredded. Catastrophic puncture. NOT repairable. Who should we report these incidents to? Henley-on-Thames has no real police. Is there an incident number in place?

Posted by: Doug Cookson | 31/07/2019 7:30 pm

On Thursday 18 July My wife drove from Shiplake to Sonning Common via Memorial Avenue, and when she got back to the car in SC she had a flat tyre, caused by a nail in the side of the tyre. She only saw the head of the nail and it looked like the one pictured. Because the tyre damage was in the side wall it wasn’t repairable so we had to have a new tyre fitted.

Posted by: Richard Owen | 31/07/2019 5:37 pm