The long-running battle to scrap the tolls at the Dartford Crossing has suffered another setback after the government announced they will be increased.

ABIGAIL WOODCOCK looks back at years of motorist misery.

TOLL charges on the Dartford Crossing are to be hiked up by 50p to pay for free-flow electronic charging, the Department for Transport has announced.

From October 2012, cash charges for car users will increase from £1.50 to £2, from £2 to £2.50 for lorries and from £3.70 to £5.00 for heavy goods vehicles.

The Crossing will remain free for motorcyclists, while Dart-tag users will still receive discounted prices.

A further increase will start in October 2014, with the tolls going up by a further 50p and heavy goods vehicles to pay an extra pound.

Funding from the charge increase will help to pay for free-flow electronic charging.

When the first tunnel was built in 1969, the government promised to scrap the tolls once enough cash had been raised to cover construction and maintenance costs.

Despite the bill being paid in 2003, the tolls remained.

They went up in 2008 from £1 to £1.50 for cars.

When elected, MP for Dartford Gareth Johnson vowed to fight to scrap the tolls completely.

He said: “My stance on the Dartford Crossing has never changed. I have always opposed the tolls and I continue to do so.

“I disagree with these increases and maintain the tolls should have been scrapped by the last Government when the Bridge had been paid for.

“Since becoming MP for Dartford I have spent more time working on the Dartford Crossing that any other one single issue.

“I have held numerous meetings with the Roads Minister, organised a public meeting for residents and have raised the issue of the Crossing in Parliament countless times.

“I have convinced the Department for Transport to overturn Gordon Brown’s announcement to sell off the crossing and they have also agreed to remove the toll booths.

“This will tackle the congestion and the pollution in the area but unfortunately the cost of the tolls remain.

“The last government had thirteen years to tackle the congestion at the crossing but they did nothing about it. We will soon see a significant improvement in traffic flow in the area as a result of the removal of the toll booths.”

YEARS OF MOTOR MISERY

June 2000: The European Commission threatens to impose VAT on road tolls, meaning charges could rise by 17.5 per cent. Currently, cars cost £1 and vans £1.70 to cross the Thames estuary at Dartford.

October 2001: The Highways Agency says drivers using the Dartford Crossing may still have to pay a toll after the charging concession ends in December 2002.

2003: Crossing is finally paid for but after a public consultation, the government decides the tolls controlled the flow of traffic and keeps them to ensure safety.

September 2004: The National Alliance Against Tolls (NAAT) labels the tolls a "blight on the economy" and calls on the government to scrap them.

December 2005: Campaigners call for the tolls to be scrapped, claiming they are illegal under EU law.

November 2006: The government announces proposals to increase daytime charges by 50p for car users for using the Dartford Tunnel and Dartford Bridge, from £1.80 to £2 for vans and from £2.90 to £4 for lorries.

April 2008: Then parliamentary hopeful Gareth Johnson and Bexleyheath and Crayford MP David Evennett call for a toll free trial.

October 2010: DfT announces it will increase the tolls from £1.50 to £2 by 2011 and then up to £2.50 by 2012.

June 2011: Public consultation launched by DfT to increase the tolls in November 2011 and April 2012

November 2011: DfT says it will not increase the tolls in November 2011 and April 2012 following public opposition, but will delay the increase until October 2012

May 22 2012: DfT announces the tolls will increase.