County Durham Village Bridge Collapse

8 January 2013, 13:17 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50

Ovington in County Durham has been split into two after a bridge through the village collapsed after heavy rain

The damage first started to appear in December - when one lane was closed over the bridge.

A resident in the village told Capital that a second landslide happened after that.

She said: 
"There was an accident on the A66 which meant heavy traffic was diverted through the village, which we think helped cause the second landslide.

So now we're cut off!

It's quite a long way round to Barnard Castle, and then if you want to go back into Darlington you've got to go right round Cadwell and back through Winston.

It's extra fuel and everything. It hasn't hit us yet, but it will do because it's going to be a long job I think."
Businesses say they've been affected by the closure of the bridge too.

John Stroud's one of the owners of The Four All Inn.

He told Capital he reckons it'll cost him an extra £50 a month in fuel cost because of the diversions.

He said:
"At the pub, we seem to get most of our trade from the Darlington side, so that's obviously stopped.

There are still some coming out that are willing to do the extra detour, but apart from that it's quite quiet."

Brian Buckley, strategic highways manager at Durham County Council told Capital
"Our initial investigations suggest that the landslip occurred as a result of the extreme wet weather we have experienced in recent months.

We are undertaking a more detailed site investigation and design works and will aim to reinstate the bridge and road as soon as possible. 

Construction works should commence on site in early spring.

We realise this is causing inconvenience to local residents and we will continue to liaise and communicate with the parish council and local people."