A THURROCK haulage company boss says it is “outrageous” his company will have to pay an extra pound per lorry to use the Dartford Crossing by 2012.

Canute Haulage Group, a supply chain company, has over 200 lorries using the crossing daily and the company spends about £1,200 a day on journeys, which could now rise to £1,500 per day.

The Government has not revealed the exact rise for lorries, although Canute’s lorries do use Dart-tags which currently save 50p per journey.

Group company secretary for Canute in Juliette Way, Purfleet, Rob Norden said: “We have hundreds of lorries using the crossing and the cost will inevitably have to be absorbed by the customer or into the company.

“The rise is just another bill we are going to have to deal with, the traffic is chaos round here because of the tolls.

“The public is going to have to foot the bill twice because we will have to filter out the cost and then they will pay again when going through the crossing. It’s going to be tough for business.”

Following the Government’s Comprehensive Spending Review, it emerged the tolls will rise to £2 next year and £2.50 in 2012 for cars per journey.

Essex Federation of Small Businesses chairman, Iain Wicks said: “This planned increase comes on top of increases in fuel duty on motorists and will hit independent hauliers, courier firms and similar businesses especially hard.

“Users of the crossing are already contributing more than £47 million a year in profit from the tolls they pay so to increase tolls by 40 per cent in the next two years is a blatant attack on motorists travelling between Essex and Kent including many thousands of business users each day.

“Essex FSB has been working with partners for the last three months to prepare a proposal for a Local Enterprise Partnership linking Greater Essex and Kent because we see the benefits to the economy of such a partnership – this massive increase in tolls severs that relationship by putting in place a punitive toll on businesses and consumers wishing to travel across the Thames.”

The rise in the tolls has also been condemned by Thurrock Council’s Labour leader John Kent, who said the real details for Thurrock are “hidden away” in the spending review.

Cllr Kent added: “The problem is I had to go searching for this information — the Chancellor did not include it in his speech, it is obscure and missing vital pieces.

“This is vitally important for thousands of Thurrock people who use the crossing regularly.

"We need to know exactly what the Government is proposing to do … and we need to know now.”

Conservative MP for Thurrock, Jackie Doyle-Price, said: “I have long campaigned for the tolls at the Dartford crossing to be scrapped, in line with the promise given when the crossings were constructed and I am very unhappy at the proposals to increase the charges at a time when there are serious issues with capacity. This is a queue tax not a toll.

“The minister has assured me that he understands the problems we regularly experience and that he is looking at plans to deliver improvements.

"I will continue to challenge him at every opportunity.

“The Government is required to consult on the proposals for increasing charges.

"I am determined to ensure the Government delivers real improvements for local road users.”

Jackie added the 90 per cent discount would remain in place for Thurrock residents.