RESIDENTS are facing an anxious wait to find out whether charges at the Dartford Crossing are to rise.

The deadline for the Department for Transport's (DfT) consultation to change toll charges has ended but it says it cannot set a date for the final decision.

Car drivers currently pay £1 to use the crossing but this will be increased to £1.50 if the plans get the go-ahead.

The consultation process ended on March 9.

The DfT has predicted changes could be in place by next January.

It says the proposed rise is to encourage motorists to use the DART-Tag instead of waiting in queues at toll booths.

The DART-Tag is an electronic top-up device attached to vehicles' windscreens, enabling drivers to go straight through the toll booths.

At present DART-Tag users pay 93p per crossing but there are plans to increase this to £1.

Sean Murray, who owns a Dartford-based haulage company, says this increase will cost him around £150 a year.

The 39-year-old says he is already losing money each day by wasting time in traffic which accumulates at the toll booths.

Mr Murray said: "I am disgusted at the increase. They should hurry up and decide one way or another and stop leading us on for months on end. Either way, it's bad for me.

"They get millions and millions of pounds each year so I really don't know why they have to raise the price further.

"Seven pence doesn't sound like much but it adds up and I think the Government is just being greedy."

The crossing was initially only supposed to charge users until the cost of the construction of the tunnels and the QEII Bridge had been covered.

But, four years after the cost was covered, the Government is still charging motorists.

Dartford MP Dr Howard Stoate has brought his Fair Toll for Dartford campaign to the attention of Transport Minister Stephen Ladyman in the House of Commons.

The campaign is calling for the DfT to give residents a 90-per-cent discount on the tolls.

Dr Stoate spoke about the campaign on March 8, the day before the DfT consultations came to an end.

He said: "The minister was very positive about the case I put forward and although he couldn't promise anything, he was very keen to take it into consideration."

A spokesman for the DfT said: "We have had a huge response during the consultation and we are sifting our way through everything at the moment.

"We can't say how long it will take exactly but it should take a while as it has been a very topical issue."