WEST Somerset MP Ian Liddell-Grainger has welcomed the Government's decision reconsider scrapping cheques forever.

Originally planned to end as a form of payment in 2018, the Government's Payments Council has announced that cheques will no longer be scrapped and will remain a viable way for consumers to pay for products and services for as long as customers want to use them.

The decision will come as welcome news to the scores of people who still rely on them to manage their finances.

Mr Liddell-Grainger told the County Gazette that many elderly people, small businesses and charities had felt threatened by the proposal to get rid of them.He said: “It is a huge relief that cheques will continue to be in use for as long as people want them.“Many MPs have been campaigning against the proposal to end cheque payments and it is absolutely brilliant news that the message has got through.”