SOME years ago, I pointed out to my former MP David Mowat that having the price of a toll set in stone was not the way to do it.

To get most people to use the new bridge rather than make a detour via Warrington is a chicken and egg situation.

A lower toll may actually bring a higher monthly income if more people used it.

You only have to look at the 12p each way toll on the Warburton Bridge – nobody would go another way.

I also made the point that if I were a nearby resident and used the bridge infrequently I would not mind paying the toll.

I told him who I thought should be exempt. These are people who commuted to work via the old bridge as their daily travelling costs would have been a factor as to whether they accepted a job.

Because of the toll their disposable income will be reduced by around £1,000 a year.

However if someone today accepted a job the cost of the toll would be a factor in whether he or she took it so he or she should not be exempt.

Of course this logical approach fell on deaf ears further reinforcing my opinion that today’s political class do not have an ounce of common sense and are certainly not of the calibre of those politicians who won the Second World War.

I am visiting former colleagues at Daresbury Laboratory tomorrow so it will be a chance to use the new bridge.

On the return journey it was my intention to travel via Bridge Foot to collect my two grandsons from school. However I have been advised by former colleagues if I want to reach the school within a reasonable time it may be best to use the gateway bridge for the return journey.

Since the 1960s I have always liked the Ribble Valley and the approach to life of the people who live here and I moved here with my wife Helen a couple of years ago.

Do I miss Warrington?

Not really, the development corporation made a mess of the area and especially the road system.

Blackburn, our local town, has a good road system and most of the major retail outlets are located in the centre of town and parking is free and hills and forests are on our doorstep.

I was always a boy scout at heart.

COLIN HORRABIN Blackburn