THE Inglis Bridge operation in Monmouth has been delayed after discovering the 100 tonne crane is unable to lift the weight of the bridge.

The MOD- owned Inglis Bridge was due to be moved from its position - in which it has been sat since 1931 - onto a scaffolding structure on Vauxhall Fields to be repaired, so it can be made accessible for residents to use again.

Councillor Jane Lucas, who has been involved in the project, said: “They had three attempts to lift it and the crane isn’t quite big enough for what we need, and the weight of the bridge is too much.”

Archaeologist for the project, Kate Churchill, also added: “Unfortunately today we found that the bridge is at least double the weight that we’d assumed it was.”

Funding of around £1 million was secured from the Ministry of Defence and associate bodies to carry out these essential repairs and refurbishment which they started on February 10. Councillors and the MP for Monmouthshire Catherine Fookes, have been updating residents on the process of the operation.

Looking ahead they are going to remove the crane and come up with another plan. We will update when more information becomes available to us.