YOU had a letter asking why the new Mersey Gateway bridge between Runcorn and Widnes should be free for Warrington residents, Warrington Guardian, May 21. The writer also said that this would cost Warrington Borough Council £4 million a year.

The statement that Warrington residents would not have to pay came from the Chancellor and the implication is that the Government would pay for any concessions.

Given the Government collects £1 billion of taxes every week from drivers, it seems quite fair that the Government should pay.

In any case, the tolls are not going to be just on the new bridge — they will also be on the old Silver Jubilee bridge. That bridge was built with money provided by Lancashire and Cheshire ratepayers as well as by the government.

Would anybody think that it was in the least fair that they should now be forced to pay tolls to use that bridge?

We urge readers of the Guardian to press the local MPs to make sure that the Chancellor honours the promise that he made during the election campaign

JOHN MCGOLDRICK

National Alliance Against Tolls