EMPLOYEES at a Norfolk factory will have to pay more to get to and from work because of rising fuel costs.Banham Poultry workers using transport provided by the company have been warned that fees are set to rise from £2 to £5 a day because of the soaring price of petrol and diesel.

EMPLOYEES at a Norfolk factory will have to pay more to get to and from work because of rising fuel costs.

Banham Poultry workers using transport provided by the company have been warned that fees are set to rise from £2 to £5 a day because of the soaring price of petrol and diesel.

The company has offered free transport in the past and introduced the £2 a day fee about two years ago. But a letter has now been sent to staff informing them this is set to rise to £5 a day or £25 a week.

The Attleborough-based company said the move was a sign of the current economic climate and it was not looking to exploit workers.

Director Dennis Foreman said: “These are difficult times and we have sent a letter to workers to say that prices are going up.

“We want to be seen to be fair to everyone and we are looking to see what we can do to keep costs down.”

He added: “I stand for the workers who work here. We are a family company and we want things to be right for our workers. We are not here to exploit them. It is a question of helping with the costs.

“This is an additional cost for

the company and we are just trying to safeguard what we have got.”

Mr Foreman said 78 of the company's 500-strong production workforce use transport supplied by them. Mini-buses and a 53-seat coach transport workers to the company's plant from their homes in places such as Yarmouth, Dereham and Watton.

Mr Foreman said staff unhappy with the price increase could look at alternative means of transport such as car sharing.

He said transport costs are high across the board and someone visiting the firm recently paid £3.39 for a single train ticket from Wymondham to Attleborough.