Cleveland Bridge: Historic firm's assets up for auction

Assets are being sold to pay back £21m debts the company owed

Mechanical equipment used by the now defunct engineering firm Cleveland Bridge is being auctioned off.

The 144-year-old Darlington-based business collapsed in September with the loss of more than 100 jobs after a new buyer failed to be found.

Assets including machinery, lifting equipment and tools are to be sold to pay the £21m it owed creditors.

Cleveland Bridge worked on the Sydney Harbour Bridge and more recently Wembley Stadium's arch.

The two-day auction is being held on Wednesday and Thursday and features about 2,400 lots.

Buyers must have collected what they bought from the Yarm Road site following the auction by 10 December.

Cleveland Bridge saw more than 100 job losses when it collapsed

'Significant interest'

Potential buyer Robert Bainbridge, who runs steel scrap business CL Prosser and Co, was one of those who took a look around the site, and said it was a rare opportunity.

"It just seems a shame that this is going," he said.

"It's horrible that this is closing down, the amount of work they have done over the years.

"Once it goes it won't happen again."

The firm designed the Tees Transporter Bridge

It also worked on the construction of Wembley Stadium's arch

Sanderson Weatherall, commercial property agents, outlined the items for sale as "fabrication and metalworking machinery and equipment formerly used in the manufacture of bridge sections, welding, shotblast, traditional machine tools, steel containers, lifting equipment, works transport and motor vehicles."

Partner Mark Weston said it expected to receive "significant interest in a number of the lots".

Cleveland Bridge was founded in 1877 and is known for its work on the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Middlesbrough's Transporter Bridge.

It also helped to build structures including Wembley Stadium's arch, London's Shard and Dubai International Airport.

The 2,400 lots also include simple tools