Number of US-style ‘battering ram’ pickup trucks on UK roads has nearly doubled in a decade

Dodge pick up truck on the road in Preston. In many cases, children cannot be seen over the bonnets of these extra-large cars. Photograph: Cernan Elias/Alamy

The number of US-style pickup trucks on UK roads has almost doubled in the past 10 years, data shows.

The vehicles are more environmentally damaging than ordinary cars, and more dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists. Campaigners have said the extra-large vehicles, which are often too big for UK streets and parking spaces, are built like “battering rams”.