David Cameron has indicated plans to push the clocks forward an extra hour could be resurrected after legislation was killed off by Tory backbenchers.

The Prime Minister told the Western Morning News he was "disappointed" a small number of MPs from his own party talked out the daylight saving Private Members Bill.

On a visit to the Westcountry, which would benefit financially from lighter evenings, Mr Cameron said there "might be opportunities" to bring forward legislation in the next session of Parliament.

His remarks raise the possibility of a clocks bill featuring in the Queen's Speech in April, which sets out the Government's legislative agenda.

The Bill was being taken through Parliament by Conservative MP Rebecca Harris, but had backing by the Government and a majority of MPs in the Commons.

So long as all four countries in the UK agreed, it could have eventually led to a three-year trial time shift of having the clocks at Greenwich Mean Time plus one (GMT +1) in the winter and GMT +2 in the summer.

It is estimated that longer evenings would increase tourism revenues by up to £4 billion in the UK, and create tens of thousands of jobs. It could spell a £100 million annual windfall for tourism businesses in Devon and Cornwall.

Tory MPs Jacob Rees-Mogg (North East Somerset), Christopher Chope (Christchurch, Dorset) and Philip Davies (Shipley, West Yorkshire) derailed plans to explore Britain moving to Central European Time by speaking at length as the Bill was debated in the Commons, meaning it ran out of parliamentary time.

Mr Cameron said yesterday in Plymouth: "We can go on examining this issue. It is something that needs to be done on a UK basis, that was the condition, and obviously there might be opportunities for it to be brought forward in the next session.

"I was disappointed that it fell in the way that it did but the Bill as amended was already saying that it needed to happen in the UK all at the same time and I think that is important."

Liberal Democrat Business Secretary Vince Cable previously told the WMN he was "disappointed" the Bill had fallen by the wayside despite a "a fair degree of consensus" among MPs.

Many in Scotland oppose the move over fears that the country would be plunged into darkness. But the Bill would only allow for a study into the benefits, which supporters claim would cut road deaths, boost tourism and reduce energy use.