M6 Toll useage dips

Fewer motorists are now using the M6 Toll than when it was opened eight years ago, figures show today.

With petrol prices soaring, fewer drivers are prepared to pay extra to save time on the pay-as-you go motorway, with traffic numbers for the last three months falling by more than 10 per cent.

The latest figures for the 27-mile toll road show average daily traffic for the period from October to December was down 10.7 per cent on the year before.

But road operator Midland Expressway Ltd (MEL) said today that the end-of- year performance represented a "slight improvement" over the previous three months, when traffic was down by 14.3 per cent.