George, you might be able to help me with this. If I wanted to sabotage a land rover so that it went out of control, but I didn't want it to be blatantly obvious that it had been tampered with, how would I go about it?

If I stuck a sharp object, such as an ice pick) through the brake pipes would the fluid drain away slowly enough for it to appear like brake failure rather than sabotage?

And before you ask, I am not planning on bumping my nearest and dearest off, just a character in my WIP!

Jenny, I have seen where the brake fluid is simply emptied out of the line, leaving just enough to get the trip started and failing when it mattered most. It's another option, rather than cutting the line. Hope it helps.

Thanks Pol. What I need is for the fluid to drain away slowly over a couple of days, hence my idea for the ice pick puncturing the lines.

Here's a real life court case that might be useful:

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The link is to a cached page so that the search terms are highlighted.

Thanks, Shelagh. Thats very helpful.