Mayor 'devastated' after vehicle hits town bridge

The bridge has been shut since 24 November, with residents having to use alternative routes to get from one side of Lydney to the other

A town mayor said she is "devastated" after a vehicle struck a stone bridge nine days after was shut following flooding

Lydney Town Council posted on Facebook that it believed a driver had ignored road closure signs before driving into the bridge on Newerne Street - which has been shut since 24 November.

Lydney was one of the areas worst hit in Gloucestershire during Storm Bert, which caused the River Lyd to burst its banks.

Mayor Tasha Saunders said it "could be months" before the town can get back to normal after the incident on Tuesday morning.

A stone bridge in Lydney has been damaged by a vehicle

Ms Saunders told the BBC that the "weakest part" of the bridge which had "water pouring through" it during the floods, had been hit by the vehicle.

"It is heartbreaking to see that all the tireless efforts from our community to protect the bridge have been in vain," she said.

"My deepest concern now is for the businesses in our town, which were already grappling with the effects of flooding and the closure of the bridge.

"This incident will undoubtedly prolong the disruption far beyond what we initially feared."

'Fragile situation'

Ms Saunders said the council is awaiting a safety report for the bridge, adding that the incident had "has made an already fragile situation much worse".

"This is a blow the town did not need," she added.

Lydney Town Council said that it had notified the relevant authorities which have been notified of the "significant damage".

Gloucestershire Constabulary said officers were called to the scene just before 01:00 GMT on Tuesday, following a report a car had collided with the bridge.

"The driver of the vehicle was taken to Southmead Hospital in Bristol to be treated for an ankle injury," a spokesperson said.

"National Highways were informed of the collision so that a structural engineer could assess the damage to the bridge."