ROGER the Dodger was recruited to spearhead protests against the poll tax in Oxford.

The popular character from the Beano comic was adopted by campaigners to highlight their opposition to the controversial levy.

Members of Oxford Against the Poll Tax produced a cartoon featuring Roger looking for ideas in his dodge book to resist the charge.

The poll tax, or community charge, was introduced in England by the Conservative Government in 1990 to replace the rates, based on the rental value of a house. Instead, every adult paid his or her share of the cost of local services.

Opponents argued that the tax hit the poor unfairly. It also proved difficult to collect, particularly in places with large transient populations. Oxford Against the Poll Tax produced a leaflet listing ways in which the public could avoid registering for the new tax. It suggested returning the form with complicated questions; returning it incomplete with queries; denying having received the form; or pretending to have lost it.

It also called on householders to delay door-to-door poll tax officials, by inviting them in for a cup of tea and questioning them about their job. Apart from the Roger the Dodger cartoon, the group published another showing people burning their poll tax forms.

City Tories accused the campaigners of encouraging people to become poll tax dodgers.

Members of the controlling Labour group on Oxford City Council faced a dilemma. They wanted to oppose the tax, but failure to collect it risked the city going bankrupt.

The council’s poll tax registration officer wanted to use council records to help him draw up a register of those due to pay the tax. But the council ruled that the records should not be used until it was forced by law to release them.

However, a week later, councillors were forced to backtrack after officials pointed out that if the poll tax register was incomplete, the financial effects on the city could be disastrous.

Labour finance committee chairman Phyllis Starkey said: “The Government has put us in a difficult position. We are opposed to this unfair and iniquitous tax, but we must have enough money to maintain services.”

In one of many protests, marches and demonstrations in Oxford, dozens of people burned their poll tax registration forms in a day of action.

Campaigners gathered in the St Barnabas School playground in Jericho, but were forced to burn their forms away from the school premises because of fire risks.

Information stalls were set up to hand out campaign material and people were urged to follow a code of non-cooperation over the new tax.

The day of action followed an anti-poll tax meeting at Jericho community centre attended by about 100 people.

Sarah Richmond, of the Jericho Against the Poll Tax group, said: “Many people cannot afford to pay the tax. They are paying fairly low rates and have three or people living with them, so they will be far worse off under the poll tax. Others are living in rented accommodation and will also be badly hit.”

The poll tax was eventually dropped in favour of the present council tax.