THE Severn Bridge tolls rose by just 10p this New Year, some local politicians are still not happy.

Michael German, Assembly Member for South Wales East, is continuing to lobby the Westminster government to freeze prices.

He said: "Despite the reduction in VAT, which took the UK government a month to pass on to drivers, the tolls are still going up.

"Labour has failed the people of South Wales. I have written three times to the responsible UK government minister asking that the tolls be frozen as a means of stimulating the economy of South Wales.

"The tolls are a tax on business and tourism."

He continued: "If the UK government were serious about the injecting support for our economy then they would be freezing the tolls. Many businesses have told me that the increases will affect their ability to trade.

"Already many key distribution companies on the Wales side of the bridges are considering the impact these increases will have on jobs. Welsh manufacturing is taking a bigger hit than any other part of the UK.

"Now more than ever, we need more tourists to boost our economy. We should do all we can to stop the negative vision of Wales as a country where you are taxed to come in."

Furthermore, Mr German wants to see the introduction of pay-by-card technology sooner rather than later.

"He added: "We have the added nightmare of motorists still scrabbling for cash to get into Wales. Rather than handing over tens of thousands of pounds to the bridges in the extra VAT the UK government has let them keep, they should have used this cash to pay the banks the money they are demanding to enable cards to be used."