Village bridge 'urgently' needed

The bridge is only open to light traffic

A temporary bridge is "urgently" needed to replace an unsafe village rail bridge which has been closed since August, councillors have said.

Herefordshire Council's scrutiny committee heard the closure of the Colwall railway bridge had caused chaos for businesses and drivers.

Network Rail closed the bridge last August because it was badly eroded. It reopened to light traffic in December.

A temporary bailey bridge costing about £450,000 is likely to be installed.

Lorries 'grounded'

Network Rail has agreed to pay half the cost of the replacement bridge.

Currently only a single lane of traffic weighing less than three tonnes is allowed to use the bridge.

The committee heard last week that lorries were regularly becoming "grounded" on the alternative route through the village.

The council said it had not received a clear timescale from Network Rail about when the bridge would be repaired.