A TOLLS campaigner who drove across the Silver Jubilee Bridge without paying has had his fine quashed after the council was accused of failing to follow correct tolling procedures.

Joseph Nightingale drove over the bridge in February shortly after it reopened to the public, travelling at 10mph between Runcorn and Widnes and back again while displaying ‘Scrap Mersey Tolls’ placards.

He was subsequently fined by Halton Council for failing to pay a toll, but after he lodged an appeal has now had his fine quashed by the Traffic Penalty Tribunal.

Finding in his favour, an independent adjudicator found there had been a ‘procedural impropriety on the part of the charging authority’.

The tribunal found:

The wording on the website of Halton Council’s contractors Emovis did not adequately describe how and by when tolls had to be paid.

The council had not dealt with Mr Nightingale’s subsequent complaint adequately because it ‘failed to consider’ his representations. The tribunal said this was because the council’s reason for rejecting his complaint related to charging scheme and by-laws that only related to the Mersey Gateway Bridge, not the Silver Jubilee Bridge.

The adjudicator added that they were ‘not satisfied’ that there was adequate and reasonable signing to make road users aware of the road user charging scheme.

The new Mersey Gateway Bridge was opened in 2017 and is subject to tolls. The Silver Jubilee Bridge, which had been constructed in 1956, reopened earlier this year following a refit. It had previously been free to cross but it too now also operates under a tolling regime.

Mr Nightingale, who lives in Wirral, said: “I went to demonstrate the public’s right to freely cross the Silver Jubilee Bridge which was built and paid for 60 years ago and which has always been free at the point of use.

“I am, of course, pleased with the finding in my favour. However, I did not anticipate any other than a successful result.”

A Halton Borough Council spokeswoman said travellers crossing both bridges should continue to pay the tolls.

She added: “The council accepts that there was an administrative error in the consideration of this appeal and that, because of this, the decision to uphold the appeal was the correct one.

“However, there are a number of findings within the decision which the council considers to be based on oversight or incorrect assumption. These are related to a number of aspects of the tolling scheme operation.

“For this reason, information has now been submitted to the adjudicator to allow appreciation of this.”