ENTRANCE fees for buildings and monuments owned by English Heritage should be slashed so more families can afford to visit them, says Pendle MP Gordon Prentice.

He is lobbying heritage minister Iain Sproat to get the admission costs cut.

But Mr Sproat told the Labour MP that English Heritage raised more than £15 million of its £50 million running costs from ticket sales, membership, shops and catering.

The cost of tickets for English Heritage sites, which include some of Britain's finest castles and monuments, varies from £3 to £5.

Mr Prentice said: "With summer upon us this is a very real issue.

"Even with concessions for the under-16s, a family trip out can blow a hole in the family budget.

"For people on low incomes, the castles might as well be in the air for all the chance they have of getting in.

"The ticket price is as much an obstacle as the drawbridge of old.

"People should not be priced out of enjoying and learning from our heritage.

"In Lancashire and Yorkshire, there is so much to see but it costs an arm and a leg."

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