THE Chancellor's decision to give vehicle excise duty refunds to all of Britain's hauliers have been described as 'a step in the right direction' by a Westbury transport firm.

Britain's truckers are set to receive a refund of between £150 and more than £4,500 per lorry on their vehicle excise duty discs.

The move is the first stage in a major shake-up in taxation of the country's haulage industry to be introduced in next year's Budget.

A quarter of a million lorries over 7.5 tonnes will benefit from the refunds.

A representative from Westbury haulage firm Rygor said: "It's certainly a large step in the right direction, but a cut in fuel still has to be the Government's main priority."

Transport Minister Lord Macdonald said: "The new structure of vehicle excise duties proposed by the Chancellor is radically simpler than before.

"The cuts in vehicle excise duty will also give us some of the lowest rates in Europe for the cleanest vehicles."