Highway robbery: The Indonesian tyre repairmen who are bringing drivers to a halt by throwing nails in the road

Highway robbery: The Indonesian tyre repairmen who are bringing drivers to a halt by throwing nails in the road

• And the volunteers army who taking them on armed only with magnets

By Updated: 16:55 BST, 26 January 2012

The fight to make it through the morning rush hour is always difficult but imagine how you would feel if your trip was being sabotaged every day in life?

That’s what happens across the Indonesian capital of Jakarta each morning.

Unscrupulous tyre repairmen have for years been throwing bags of nails across the city highways in a crude attempt to drum up extra business.

No sooner have they made the road surface impassable by casting thousands of objects in the way of passing traffic than drivers have to bring their cars in to the nearest roadside tyre repairer to allow them to get back on the road.

As hard as nails: The job to keep Jakarta’s streets clear of debris, which has been strewn across the streets of Jakarta to cause punctures, is a daily chore in the Indonesian capital.

And after they bring their clientele to a piercing halt these highwaymen then charge double for the emergency roadside repair.

But change is just around the corner with the concerted efforts of volunteers from Komunitas Sapu Bersih Ranjau Paku, or ‘Nails Wipeout Community’, who for the past two years have been plucking the nails and sharp objects off the jam-packed streets.

And they have been doing it for free.

Every day they stride into Jakarta’s busy traffic, armed only with keen eyesight and a set of powerful magnets.

Roadsweeper with a difference: Volunteers have to wander between lines of traffic to keep the streets clear and save punctures

Keeping the streets clean: Only a volunteer operation mounted each day keeps the nails out of motorists tyres.

Since they began their collection campaign they have collected some 450 kilograms of nails.

And each day they see their efforts paying off, with their daily nail collections falling from five kilograms a day to only two.

‘We are doing this not for money or publicity.We only want motorists to have a smooth, problem-free ride,’ said 38-year-old granite wholesaler Siswanto, who founded the group.

And he added: ‘We don’t want people to be late for work because of a punctured tire.We want children to be in school on time. We don’t want poor people to waste their hard-earned money no

Siswanto, who like many Indonesians uses a single name, begins his collection at 4:30am, leaving for his day job at 7am.

Community action: The volunteers are the only ones who tackle the menace of the tyre repairers operating on the streets of Jakarta

But it doesn’t stop there, he’s out again at 6:30 p.m.for a few hours, for the routine that has become his daily life.

Besides the danger of being hit by a car, the volunteers also face other hazards.

‘There were people who threw rocks and worn-out tyres at us and even warned us ‘you pick up the nails and I will kill you,’ explained volunteer Agus Yudi Murjito, 41.

He said: ‘But I’m doing this to help people, so I believe we will get God’s protection. I’ll be here, rain or shine.’

Most days the culprits fill matchboxes and plastic bags with nails and metal scraps and deliberately drop them on busy streets during the early hours, explained Jakarta police spokesman Rikwanto.

He added that it had been a common practice in the city for years.

And he said: ‘When unfortunate victims go to the repairmen they are often told they need new tires,

Metal minefield: The unusual magnetic sweepers collect countless nails each day after they have been thrown down to stimulate business for tyre firms in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The tyre repairmen typically work in pairs with one dumping the nails and the other carrying out the repairs.They can pull in earnings of Rp 200,000 ($22) to Rp 400,000 a day are normal.

Nearly half the Indonesia’s 240 million population lives on less than $2 a day leaving no incentive to stop the sharp practice, other than being honest.

But one roadside repairman, who started up two months ago, defended his reputation saying he only opened up to meet increased demand for repairs.

Fifty-seven-year-old Darmito said: ‘I’m doing an honest business.I don’t know who dumped the nails along this road.’

Last month police arrested eight suspects, who could face five years in jail on charges of damaging property, Rikwanto said.

He added: ‘We are hunting down more.We have received so many complaints from motorists but they are hard to catch. Once they sense we are getting tough they will vanish for a while and thenre-appear.’