THE continuing rise of the low-cost airlines hit Channel Tunnel company Eurotunnel last year.

Eurotunnel carried eight per cent fewer cars on its shuttle trains last year than in 2003, company figures showed.

Although the number of lorry shuttles remained about the same as in 2003, Eurotunnel's overall shuttle service revenue fell seven per cent to £285m.

Last year, Eurotunnel carried 2.1 million cars through the tunnel on its shuttle trains compared with 2.27 million in 2003. The number of coaches carried fell 12 per cent to 63,467.

The company's overall operating revenue fell four per cent last year to £538m.

Eurotunnel chief executive Jean-Louis Raymond said: "The improvement in Eurostar traffic over the last year has certainly been encouraging, but competitive pressure remains strong and the impact on the market of the development of no-frills airlines is being felt ever more strongly."

Eurotunnel's share of the passenger "short straits" market - the crossings between Dover and Folkestone and Boulogne, Calais, Dunkirk and Zeebrugge - fell six per cent last year, while its share of the coach market was down four per cent.