£3.3m grant to rebuild Tadcaster's flood-damaged bridge

The 18th Century stone bridge partially collapsed on 29 December

A £3.3m grant has been approved by the government to rebuild the badly-damaged road bridge in the centre of Tadcaster.

The 18th Century bridge over the River Wharfe was damaged in flooding and could take up to 12 months to repair, leaving the town separated.

The Department for Transport will also fund the provision of a temporary £300,000 footbridge at the site.

The government's Flood Envoy, Yorkshire MP Robert Goodwill, said the bridge was "a national priority".

A bus has been transporting people from one side of the river to the other after the bridge remained closed.

Shops and businesses in the town were badly affected by floods after river levels rose following heavy rain on 26 December.

North Yorkshire County Council took the decision to reconstruct the bridge

The leader of North Yorkshire County Council, Carl Les, said: "We want to get life in Tadcaster back to normal as quickly as possible."

Other bridges in Yorkshire suffered serious damage during the recent floods, including Elland Bridge in Calderdale, while a 180-year-old bridge collapsed in Copley, near Halifax.