TWO parish councils have boosted the campaign to scrap road tolls on the Mersey bridges at Runcorn for Warrington drivers after voting unanimously to back the move.

Both Penketh and Great Sankey Parish Council, which each have a Labour majority, backed the cross-party campaign at their recent meetings.

Resolutions were passed condemning the tolls and calling for them to be scrapped completely, while in another boost the online petition against the tolls, launched by Warrington South’s Labour candidate, Nick Bent, has now received 561 signatures.  

More than 250 organisations have backed the campaign, including the Warrington Chamber of Commerce, University of Chester and Halton and Warrington NHS Hospital Trust.

Unless the Government makes a U-turn, the tolls will be imposed on all Warrington drivers using the current Silver Jubilee Bridge and new Mersey Gateway Crossing. 

It will cost £2 each way, with a discount pass for Warrington drivers to be priced at £90 per month, amounting to £1080 a year.

In a joint statement, Mr Bent, Cllr Linda Dirir, executive board member for transport, and Cllr Tony Williams, Great Sankey Parish Council chairman, issued a message to the Prime Minister.

The statement said: "The road tolls will be bad news for the whole of Warrington but people where we live in Penketh and Sankey will be hardest hit so the voices of our residents must be heard loud and clear by David Cameron.

"Together, we can force him to make a U-turn and scrap these tolls completely - please take two minutes to sign the petition."

To view the petition visit: www.WarringtonSouth.org