An 11-year-old schoolgirl is heartbroken at the prospect of being forced to hand back the violin she has lovingly learned to play over the past two years.

Joanna McCurry's violin is owned by the cash-strapped local education authority that has recently imposed charges for music tuition.

Joanna's mother Shirley has refused to pay the fees so now the instrument could be seized at any time if she goes to her once-a-week lesson that now costs #90 a year.

But Mrs McCurry has decided to fight any bid to reclaim the violin, and now is keeping her daughter from music classes at Inverness Royal Academy.

Mrs McCurry, of Slackbuie, Inverness, said yesterday: ''Anyone who knows about music will know how detrimental this is to the study of their instrument and it will make it impossible for students to attain standard grade music.

''They are robbing a lot of talented children from advancing their love of music. There is help for people who cannot afford the fees, but why should parents be means tested so that their children can learn music?''

Highland Council director of education Allan Gilchrist denied they were being harsh. ''Why should children whose parents refuse to pay the tuition fees still hang on to instruments when there could be other children who want to use those instruments?''