THE new Government scheme to sell or scrap your car, with the added incentive of a voucher trade-in, on the face of it seems a good idea, especially to boost our ailing car manufacturers, even though the taxpayer will pay in the end.

But there is a danger there may be a clandestine move by dealers and scrap metal merchants to raise costs, erasing any benefits this scheme has to offer in the long run.

For instance, there will probably soon be no more space available to store the increasing amount of cars on the scrapheap, just as there is the problem with regard to fridges and the like, and the costs will rise to accommodate the overflow.

This short-term measure will become a nightmare scenario, not unlike the introduction of the home pack required by the vendor when selling their houses.

I might think green, but am not so green as to fall for this one.

As for electric cars, they will need endless charging points along our road network, more power stations and rising electricity bills, as the population increases and more vehicle ownership.

Invest instead on more rail links, underground or overground, to reduce vehicle usage with modest fares as an incentive.

Kenneth Bowker, Vesper Walk, Huntington, York.