Residents delayed after new £121m Herring Bridge gets stuck twice in one day

A digital sign warned traffic on the A149 that the Herring Bridge was closed

Drivers, cyclists and pedestrians were held up after a town's new £121m bridge got stuck for a second time in one day.

Herring Bridge in Great Yarmouth was opened on 1 February, but encountered technical issues two days later.

The bridge encountered two further faults on Wednesday, which caused delays.

Norfolk County Council said there had been a minor technical issue with the barriers, which was resolved - but then reoccurred again at about 16:00 GMT.

The bridge had been due to lift to allow the windfarm vessel Njord Forseti through

The bridge had been due to lift, to allow vessel Njord Forseti through, but it got stuck in the down position, with the barriers closed.

Adam Marriner, 49, from Great Yarmouth was waiting to cross the bridge when it failed to open at 11:40 GMT.

He said: "No-one has said a word. I'm glad they spent £120m on a new bridge that doesn't work.

"I'm sure I could have put the money to better use. It's just ridiculous it's got stuck - It's the second time."

Pedestrian Adam Marriner said he was frustrated that the bridge has got stuck twice since it opened in February

Neal Carlin, 34, from Lowestoft, was also on foot, and considered walking towards Haven Bridge in order to catch a bus.

He told the BBC: "I have to catch a bus on the other side, so my only other option would be to walk all the way up and all the way back down but I'm not sure which will take longer. It's not ideal."

Neal Carlin said he was not sure whether to stay and wait for the bridge to open, or walk towards a bus stop

John Hurren, from Gorleston, was cycling home after having a coffee in Great Yarmouth.

He said: "I didn't realise it was stuck. I'll have to bike back and go over the Haven Bridge.

"It's not very good. I have come over a couple of times and it has been up [in the raised position] but I think they were testing it and it dropped down again and off we went."

John Hurren said he could cycle over the Haven Bridge instead

A spokesperson for Norfolk County Council said: "A minor technical fault this morning temporarily prevented the barriers from raising. This was quickly fixed but reoccurred around 4pm.

"The bridge is currently open to road traffic but investigations into the fault are ongoing."

It was the third time there was a problem with the crossing and Norfolk County Council previously apologised after the bridge was closed for a few hours due to a technical problem at the beginning of February.