Tolls bring in an annual �18m

Consultants were asked to look at the case for scrapping the charges over claims they were restricting growth.

The 10-month study, commissioned by the Humber Forum, said the government was unlikely to back abolition calls because it would lose revenue.

But hospital patients and some bus services should be allowed to cross the bridge for free, it concluded.

'Weak' case

More than six million vehicles cross the bridge every year, bringing in approximately �18m.

But most of the cash generated by the tolls is swallowed up by debt repayments, which stood at �115m when the bridge opened in 1981.

The Humber Bridge Board pay out �15m every year in repayments and its estimated the construction loan will be paid off in 2032.

The Humber Forum feared the tolls, which are the highest for any river crossing in the UK, were restricting economic growth in Hull and northern Lincolnshire.

Consultants Steer Davies Gleave looked at the economic impact of tolls on the area and talked to local businesses and bridge users.

The group found that the case for reducing or abolishing charges was "rather weak" and would have limited power to generate jobs.