THE 'injustice' of the Mersey Gateway bridge tolls has been raised by MP Mike Amesbury, after longstanding charges at the Severn Bridge were scrapped.

Commuters in the south west and Wales enjoyed their first toll-free crossing on Monday morning – where fees were previously £5.60 per car – following a 2017 election Tory pledge.

Meanwhile, a George Osborne pledge in 2015 to make the Mersey Gateway crossing between Widnes and Runcorn also free for Cheshire and Warrington residents never came to fruition after the government backtracked.

Removing fees on the Severn Crossing's M4 and M48 bridges could save commuters up to £1,400 a year.

Mike Amesbury has been a fierce opponent of tolls on the Mersey Gateway and said the decision to axe tolls elsewhere showed the government had the ways and means to do the same here, if it so chose.

He said: “While I’m glad commuters in that part of the UK can now travel without having to pay tolls, this only serves to highlight what an injustice it is that commuters in my constituency are continuing to be penalised.

“I’ve said all along this is nothing short of a tax on jobs.”

“Major national infrastructure projects should always be funded by the exchequer, not by ordinary everyday people, and I’ve called on the Chancellor to fund toll-free travel on the Mersey Gateway.”