Demonstration over toll charges

Car users pay £1.40 to use the tunnels

A demonstration has been held in Merseyside in protest at the charges levied at motorists for using the Mersey Tunnels.

Car users of the Mersey Tunnels pay £1.40 to cross under the river.

However, the government recently ruled that motorists living near the Dartford crossing in Kent should pay just 20p instead of the usual £1.50 charge.

The Mersey Tunnels Users' Association claims people living near the Mersey Tunnels should get similar discounts.

The group protested at the Liverpool entrance of the Birkenhead tunnel while the crossing was closed for a charity walk.

John McGoldrick, from the Mersey Tunnel Users' Association, said: "Our ultimate aim is to get the toll charges scrapped completely.

"We were incensed when we heard on Thursday that the government has decided to discount toll charges for local tunnel users in Dartford - if they can do it there why can't they do it everywhere else?"