LONDON: Infuriated with motorists parking their luxury cars illegally around the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius, Mayor Arturas Zuokas took the drastic step of driving an armoured vehicle over a Mercedes S-class, which was parked in a cycle lane.

The flamboyant politician decided to take the novel approach of fighting illegally parked cars by destroying them with a camouflaged Russian armoured personnel carrier.

“I wanted to send a clear message that people with big and expensive cars can’t park wherever they feel like and ignore the rights of pedestrians and bike riders,” the Daily Mail quoted him as saying.

“It shows a lack of respect and won’t be tolerated. Of course, you have to have a sense of humour in my line of work and I thought this would be a way of drawing attention to the fact that the city intends to be proactive in its fight against illegal parking,” he added.

The shocked ‘owner’ of the Mercedes was photographed exiting a shop to find his German saloon destroyed by the civic leader, who shakes his hand, tells him not to park his car illegally ever again and merrily cycles off.

But not before he’s thoughtfully swept up the broken glass on the street. The car was towed away and destroyed.

The dramatic scene was actually a set-up by the leader, to underline how keen he is to crush illegal parking.

The stunt was filmed for a video released by city officials, which points out that owners of expensive cars such as Ferraris and Rolls Royces regularly park in cycle lanes.

“What should the city do about drivers who seem to think they’re above the law?” it asks.

“It seems that a tank is the best solution.”

A spokeswoman for the Mayor said that the car was brought in especially for the clip.