Drivers at the Dartford Crossing will be hit with increased toll charges from tomorrow.

Fares at the traffic hotspot are set to rocket by up to 50 per cent.

The new fees, which come into force from 10pm, mean private car drivers will have to fork out £1.50 per trip rather than £1, while charges for lorries will rise by almost 40 per cent, from £2.90 to £4.

A discount scheme for local residents, approved in June after a 12-month consultation, means Dartford drivers will pay just 20p per crossing if they take up the offer.

~Listen: Dartford council's leader Jeremy Kite explains why he thinks the toll should be free>>>

To qualify for a discount, motorists must pay an annual registration fee of £10, which covers the first 50 crossings in their specified vehicle and entitles them to a DART-Tag designed for their car windscreen.

But according to the Highways Agency, which is administering the scheme, only 6,144 residents have registered since July. And this also includes applicants from Thurrock, who are also entitled to the discount.

Meanwhile applications for standard DART-Tags have rocketed.

A Highways Agency spokesman said 7,325 applications for DART-Tags had been received since July, almost five times the usual volume for the same period last year, at 1,500.

The spokesman added: "We are encouraging people to carry on coming and applying for the discount. The customer centre remains open even after November 15 so people can still go there and apply for the discount scheme."

There will be no toll between 10pm and 6am.