(ANSA) - ROME, NOV 30 - A dog named Billy has been revealed as the perpetrator of tyre punctures in a Molise village in recent months which had spurred rumours of rows between neighbours or even mafia-style intimidation.
Police installed surveillance cameras amid the wave of acts of tyre vandalism which had roiled Vastogirardi, a village of 600 souls near Isernia.
They caught Billy in the act of gnarling several cars' tyres.
Vets said the dog's behaviour could be put down to a severe case of gengivitis which made him bite the tyres to relieve the pain he was suffering.
photo: Billy in action
(ANSA).