LEGAL curbs on the use of 4x4s, quad and motorbikes on fragile country tracks are now in the pipeline after Rural Affairs minister Alun Michael announced a series of hard-hitting, new measures.

The proposals aim to close a legal loophole, which presently allows motorists to claim a right of way on narrow and delicate country tracks, simply because they were once used by horse-drawn vehicles.

As he announced the measures, Mr Michael said there was a place for motor vehicles in the countryside and he stopped short of calling for an outright ban on them. But he voiced his concern about the damage caused to delicate and ancient tracks, or so called green lanes, by vehicles and also feared for the safety of horse riders, dog walkers and ramblers on these routes.

Mr Michael said: "We need a right of way network that responds to the needs of the 21st century, not a network based solely on historic use patterns. The pressures of modern day use are very different to those 100 or more years ago and new legislation is needed to reflect these changes."

He added: "Mechanically controlled vehicles should continue to have a place in the using and enjoying of the rights of way network. But the ability to extend the network purely on the basis of historic use by the horse drawn vehicles should be curtailed. This coupled with a range of management enforcement measures will be a sound sustainable basis for providing management of motor vehicles in the countryside."

This means that, with a few possible exceptions, just because a route was used in the past by a horse drawn vehicle, it cannot automatically be designated as "a byway open to all traffic."

Mr Michael also condemned the "macho culture" of some groups, which encouraged their members to go "mud plugging" driving in large convoys down green lanes, describing such behaviour as "irresponsible.

But Nick Fieldhouse, who has been running off road 4x4 driving school Kankku from Windermere for the last five years, was angered by the proposals.

"It is a shame and quite bizarre that the Government is considering a prohibition approach rather than one of management. At the same time it is creating a right to roam, giving walkers carte blanche to ramble in the countryside," he said.