The Government is thinking of re-introducing is controversial plans for charging motorists for using public roads, according to reports leaked at the weekend – and North Yorkshire if one of the areas being targeted for trials.

Such a move would cause a huge outcry at a time when the motoring public is already being bled white with the highest fuel and road tax charges in Europe – but if these reports are correct, the trials are to be targeted at areas which by-and-large elect Conservative or Lib-Dem MPs.

The proposed areas for such trials, due to start in 2010, include North Yorkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Suffolk and the prosperous suburbs of South West London. The only urban areas included are said to be Leeds and Milton Keynes.

The plan would be to fit vehicles with “black box” transmitters which would send details of mileage covered to a computer via “spy-in-the sky” satellites. Drivers could face charges up to £1.30pa mile at peak periods – a huge extra cost for motorists in a rural area like North Yorkshire, where people have to travel long distances to work or shop.