ENGLAND could be divided up into a network of different road-pricing zones.

Drivers would be charged varying prices depending on how busy the road is.

Roads Minister Stephen Ladyman said the scheme would get round the concerns of motorists who object to being tracked by a satellite positioning device in their cars, as the Government is proposing.

He added: "We could have charging by zones instead of streets, which would solve our privacy problems.

"The heart of a congested city would be zone 1, the area just outside it would be zone 2, further out in the suburbs would be zone 3 and rural areas would be zone 4."

Drivers would still be charged by the mile, rather than paying a flat rate like the £8 London congestion charge.

A device installed in the car would record how many miles it had covered, while cameras would identify which zone they were in at the time.