Humber Bridge fast flow lanes open for the first time

Fast flow lanes on the Humber Bridge have opened for the first time.

Booths have been removed from middle lanes allowing drivers using an electronic tag to cross the bridge without stopping their vehicle to pay.

It is part of a new £7.4m electronic toll system, which went live on Thursday amid motorists saying they had experienced delays.

But bridge officials said traffic would improve as drivers got used to the tags and thanked them for "their patience".

Bridgemaster Peter Hill said the electronic tag system was "a totally bespoke solution that has been designed to make journeys across the bridge quicker and significantly reduce queues and congestion".

"It has taken a little longer to get here than we first anticipated but now we are, and the system is working as it should, I am completely thrilled," he said.

Under the new system, the tags allow motorists to pay the toll automatically via an online account with car and van drivers paying a "slightly cheaper" toll of £1.35 instead of £1.50.

The outside lanes have electronically controlled barriers for drivers without tags.

More than 5,000 motorists had signed up for the system with "over 12,000 tags already in circulation", the bridge board said.

Chairman of the Humber Bridge Board Sean Chaytor said traffic had increased by "an unprecedented 30%" since the tolls were reduced in 2012.

Chancellor George Osborne slashed the tolls - the UK's most expensive - after campaigners said they damaged the economy.