Cornwall Council approves bid to hike Tamar Bridge fee

Councillors have approved plans to hike the price of crossing the river Tamar from Cornwall into Devon by more than 30 per cent.

Drivers in cars and vans currently pay £1.50 to use the Tamar Bridge or Torpoint ferry, but this could soon rise to £2 per crossing.

This morning Cornwall Council's cabinet unanimously approved the proposal, and an application will now be made to the Department for Transport.

It would be the first price rise on the crossing since March 2010.

The bridge between Plymouth and Saltash was opened 55 years ago and is currently used by 40,000 vehicles every day.

The council says the increase is needed because the bridge has been losing money for the last year.