DAVID ROSS and MARTIN WILLIAMS
Crofters are calling on the government to recognise 4x4 vehicles are a necessity of rural life and not a symbol of wealth.

They want special dispensation from the doubling of vehicle excise duty over the next two years to £400, announced by Gordon Brown in Wednesday's Budget.

The Chancellor wants the biggest and most polluting vehicles to bear the brunt of his environmentally friendly taxes.

However, the 4x4s used in crofting communities are far removed from the so-called Chelsea tractor, and the Scottish Crofting Foundation (SCF, formerly the Scottish Crofters Union) yesterday wrote to all Highlands and Islands MPs seeking a reduced rate for vehicles vital to the crofting life.

Norman Leask, who crofts in the west of Shetland and is chairman of the SCF, said: "For many crofters, a four-wheel drive vehicle is a necessity, making it possible to get to and from the house and the croft in bad weather."

Issie MacPhail's in no doubt her Vauxhall Brava is a necessity of life on her croft in the Assynt township of Clashmore in Sutherland. She said: "I don't have a tractor. I couldn't justify the expenditure of £5000 on something which I couldn't use off the croft, but you do need a vehicle to get the big bales of hay to the cattle in the winter and for other work like fencing."

For many in urban areas, the 4x4 is a family car which signifies affluence, style and comfort while being ideal for the school run.

Margaret Stewart, 49, a housewife and mother-of-two from Lenzie near Glasgow, who drives a Toyota Land Cruiser Amazon, said: "It's a lovely car to look at, I think, and very luxurious which is why I like it and it is ideal for the kids."

A spokesman for the Treasury said: "Everybody keeps talking about the £400 duty. That only applies to group G and (those) vehicles which are registered on or after March 23, 2006."