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

Exclusive: Campaigners say menacing vehicles' are putting children at risk owing to their large front blind zones

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".