Tourism chiefs have called for toll fees on British roads to be scrapped as two bridges linking England to Wales are to become free to use for the first time in history. Both are undergoing changes to create a route that means drivers will no longer have to stop to pay, just as thousands of people prepare to travel home for the festive period. Charges on the original Severn Crossing have been in place since 1966, when the fee stood at two shillings and sixpence - the equivalent of 12.5p in today's decimal currency. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption BBC archive: the day the Severn Bridge opened 50 years ago

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Demolition teams dismantle the bridge's toll booth

The Second Severn Crossing - opened in 1996 and renamed the Prince of Wales Bridge in July this year - cost £332m to construct, but the eventual repayments including debt repayments, interest and tax totalled more than £1.3bn. Sunday is the final day that the current fee of £5.60 will be required for cars heading from England into South Wales and work is being done to remove toll booths from the original Severn Crossing and the Prince of Wales Bridge. The tolls were reduced on New Year’s Day this year when the bridges returned to public ownership, although the Government initially declined to scrap the charges altogether. The Government said scrapping of the tolls would provide an immediate benefit of over £100 million per year for Wales, and over a billion pounds of economic benefit over the next decade. Image caption Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns paid the final toll on the M4 bridge

Car drivers had to pay two shillings and sixpence each way after the first Severn bridge was opened by the Queen in 1966. Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns, who paid the final toll over the second crossing on Sunday, said: "The end of the tolls is a major milestone for the economies of south Wales and south west of England, and will remove historic barriers between communities. “A week before Christmas drivers will no longer have to pay every time they cross the border, meaning more money in their pockets, helping them with the cost of living and leaving them with and more cash to spend in their local areas.”

Chris Graying, Secretary of State for Transport, added: “We made a commitment in the manifesto to deliver free crossings over the Severn and that’s exactly what we’re delivering.
Tolls are scrapped for the Severn crossing bridges connecting England and South Wales, making travel across the River Severn free for all commuters for the first time in 800 years.