Checking the Iron Bridge for damage

Engineers working for English Heritage are assessing the historic Iron Bridge in Shropshire ahead of a £1.25m restoration project.

The work, which will see repairs to the ironwork, has been described by English Heritage as the largest single conservation project the organisation has ever undertaken.

The structure, the first of its kind in the world, was built in 1779 by Abraham Darby III and opened on New Year's Day 1781.

English Heritage said it had suffered from cracking due to stresses in the ironwork dating from the original construction, ground movement over the centuries, and an earthquake at the end of the 19th Century.