Middlesbrough: Transporter Bridge is sinking, says mayor

A damning report called the bridge a "death trap"

Structural problems on Middlesbrough's Transporter Bridge are "much worse" than previously thought, the town's mayor has revealed.

Andy Preston said one leg of the landmark structure was sinking.

The 111-year-old bridge has been shut since August 2019, when concerns were raised it was in a "dangerous state".

It was labelled a "death trap" the following year after a report found it needed more than £3m of repairs and maintenance.

Council leaders agreed to put £655,000 towards urgent repairs on the Grade II-listed bridge, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Mr Preston said more surveys were needed to determine the full extent of the remedial work required.

"One of the legs is actually sinking, which is damaging the steel framework," he said.

"I'm absolutely committed to not only protecting our landmark but bringing it back into use.

"But it's going to take much longer and it's going to cost much more than we all hoped."

Mayor Andy Preston said he did not know how much the bridge would cost to repair

In 2020, a damning report identified "passive and ineffective" management of the Edwardian bridge and told how a worker narrowly avoided being killed when a piece fell off in 2018.

Options were considered for its future, with its conversion into a leisure attraction estimated to cost between £4.8m and £6m, and using it to carry passengers at peak times, with extra repairs to running rails, support cables, and metalwork, costing between £5.3m and £7.4m.

The amounts were calculated before the recent increase in material costs.

Middlesbrough and Stockton Council have shared responsibility for the structure and have been approached for comment.

An independent taskforce was set up last year to try to determine the bridge's future.

Mr Preston said he did not know whether it would cost "£15m, £20m or even £25m".

The bridge famously featured in the TV series Auf Wiedersehen, Pet