DOZENS of police vans had their tyres punctured in a deliberate sabotage this morning, just before the massive protest march which took over Madrid in the afternoon.

The vehicles were all parked near the National Police headquarters in the Moratalaz district of the capital, in an enclosed area to which the general public had no access – only police officers and authorised visitors.

To this end, the police union, SUP, believes it could have been a case of 'general anger' on the part of one of the staff or officers over the massive cutbacks which are the subject of the protests in 80 Spanish towns and cities held yesterday.

The union said that if any officer has been personally affected by the sabotage, it would support them through any legal action they wished to take even if they were not members of SUP.

A total of 97 vans were targeted, and 140 tyres slashed, which will cost between 30,000 and 40,000 euros to replace.

The police say the action is 'totally illegal' and 'unjustifiable'.





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