Iron bridge in disrepair

An eagle-eyed Shropshire Star reader sent us this photograph of the Iron Bridge, symbol of the Industrial Revolution, apparently coming apart.

Dave Paskin, of Hornet Way, The Rock, Telford, was horrified at the deterioration in the structure of the world-famous bridge. But English Heritage insists that the historic bridge is not about to fall down.

A major scheme is due to be carried out to stop it being bent out of shape by land movement in the unstable Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site.

Mr Paskin said: "I took this photograph last month when my wife and I went down to Ironbridge for a walk.

"When I checked the photo I can clearly see one of the braces broken and another with a bit of silver tape and netting around it.

"I guess during this credit crunch, money is scarce but this seems to take repair work to the extreme."

Rob Harding, project manager for English Heritage, said: "In October 2008 we commissioned Vertical Technology to carry out a roped access survey of the bridge.

"Their remit was to report on the condition of structural members and compare their condition with a photographic record carried out in 1980.

"They were not asked to carry out any repair work other than remove or secure any elements which were in imminent danger of becoming detached and thus posed a health and safety risk. We also did not want to lose any historic fabric in the river."

Mr Harding said investigators had not found any increase in the number of cracked or broken elements of the bridge.

"It is a heavily over-engineered structure and historically we believe that members cracked during construction and as a result of stresses in the structure."

The world's first iron bridge, designed by Shrewsbury joiner turned architect Thomas Farnolls Pritchard, was built by Abraham Darby III and officially opened on New Year's Day 1781. But within a few years, cracks appeared in the ironwork due to ground movement.

Excavations are currently being carried out next to the bridge to prepare for a planned stabilisation scheme.

By Peter Johnson