DETAILS of today's major report into the economic effects of the Humber Bridge tolls can be read first in your Grimsby Telegraph.

It is revealed that scrapping the Humber Bridge tolls would net a £1-billion windfall for our local economy.

The astonishing figure was revealed in the Humber Bridge Toll Study – leaked to the Grimsby Telegraph hours before its official launch at the House of Commons later today.

The report, commissioned by North East Lincolnshire Council, and the three other unitary authorities bordering the bridge, claims the total benefit of abolishing the tolls would be £39-million in 2009 and a staggering £1.1-billion over the next 25 years.

It comes on the day the Telegraphs in Grimsby and Scunthorpe join council leaders and local MPs at the House of Commons to mark the official release of the study.

They hope to show those in charge just how crippling the charges are to those living and working in the shadow of the bridge, and take our A Toll Too Far campaign right to the top.

Experts commissioned to carry out the study have revealed abolishing the toll – or even reducing it to £1 per crossing for cars – would have a huge impact on the way we live and work.

Hospital patients, job seekers, businesses, students and tourists would all benefit from any cuts, giving our area a much-needed boost.

The results were welcomed by Grimsby MP Austin Mitchell, who said: "It would be a huge boost to the economy and allow the bridge to function the way we always intended it to.

"The struggle is getting the treasury and the Department of Transport to accept – that is the hardest part."

Cleethorpes MP Shona McIssac added: "Having this type of hard-hitting, well-researched report gives us a campaign to go forward."