Drivers who use the Mersey Gateway bridge have racked up nearly £50,000 worth of fines in just seven days.

Toll operator Merseyflow has confirmed that a total of 2,179 penalty notices were issued across the second week of the £600m structure opening.

A spokesman told our sister site the ECHO that no penalty charge notices were issued during the first week, but a total of 2,179 penalty notices were given out during its second week of operation.

Merseyflow said this does not mean drivers were not fined in the first week, but means they would have only received the penalty notice the following week.

Drivers of cars pay £2 each way to cross, which they can do online, by phone or by registering £35 for an account – as the new bridge does not have toll booths.

However the toll charge rises to either £6 or £8, each way, depending on the tonnage of the vehicle.

If fined, drivers have to pay a penalty notice of £20 plus whatever they paid to cross the toll.

Therefore the minimum fine of £22 will have brought in £47,938 but this figure could be a lot more, depending on the vehicle and amount of trips.

The bridge, which will cost £1.86bn for the total 30-year repayment and maintenance term before it comes into public ownership, opened on October 14, and spans the River Mersey between Widnes and Runcorn.

So far more than two million journeys have been made across the bridge, with an average of 72,000 vehicles using it every weekday.

And despite a number of complaints Mersey Gateway bosses have said the bridge is 'proving really popular'.

David Parr, Chief Executive of Halton Borough Council and the Mersey Gateway Crossings Board, said: “The new Mersey Gateway Bridge has been really popular.

“More than two million vehicles have used the bridge in total, averaging 72,000 vehicles every weekday, which is over and above what we expected, and shows that people are enjoying the quicker, easier and more reliable journeys the bridge brings.”