Great Yarmouth's new bridge closed indefinitely as faults investigated

Herring Bridge, which raises for river traffic, has been closed until further updates are issued, while investigations into faults continue

A new river bridge that cost £121m has been closed until further notice while faults are investigated.

Great Yarmouth's Herring Bridge became stuck in the down position twice on Wednesday, causing delays for road users and shipping.

A cyclist and a pedestrian climbed over barriers to cross the bridge, which was officially opened on 1 February.

Norfolk County Council said engineers would look at the bridge but it has not stated when it would reopen.

"The bridge leaves will be raised at 6am and remain in the upright position while further investigations are carried out," said a council spokesman.

"We apologise for any inconvenience and ask all motorists and pedestrians to use alternative routes until further updates are issued."

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

The problems began when the bridge, across the River Yare, failed to lift at 11:40 GMT on Wednesday for a windfarm crew transfer vessel.

The boat had to wait at a mooring pontoon for about 30 minutes while operators worked to raise the bridge.

The council said the problem was caused by a minor technical issue with the safety barriers, which was quickly fixed.

However, the bridge failed again at 16:00 for an hour, causing greater congestion, delays and frustration.

During that second incident, the BBC witnessed a cyclist lift his bike over the safety barrier across the road on the Southtown side. He then cycled over the bridge and lifted his bike over another barrier.

As the man rode off, he told frustrated pedestrians he had "had a long day" and had waited half an hour.

A frustrated cyclist climbed over the barriers at Herring Bridge having waited 30 minutes during a technical issue

A few minutes later a pedestrian climbed over the barrier and started crossing towards Great Yarmouth.

A bridge operator used the public address system to warn the pedestrian: "Do not cross the bridge. The pins [devices which lock the bridge spans] are out. You could fall through."

The pedestrian turned back.

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

Two days after the bridge was officially opened, it experienced a technical problem leading to the council to issue an apology after bridge operators were heard swearing.