Road to close for lorry-damaged bridge repairs

A road will be closed for two weeks so a bridge damaged by a lorry can be repaired.

The lorry struck the bridge on Church Road in Swallowfield, Berkshire, on 11 February, smashing one side of the brick wall and forcing the road to close for more than two weeks.

Wokingham Borough Council, which owns the bridge, previously said in a Freedom of Information request that repair work was expected to cost £60,000.

The council said repairs to the bridge would begin on Monday 28 September, with a road closure required so that the parapet could be replaced safely. It added that it was "making every effort to recover costs from the party responsible" and "working with their insurers".

The council said since February the bridge had remained open with temporary concrete barriers and traffic lights.

In a statement posted on social media, it said: "We intended to repair it over the holidays but there were conflicts scheduling a contractor and supplier, which couldn't be resolved in time for the Swallowfield Show on the August bank holiday.

"We didn't schedule the works for earlier this month to avoid disruption while schools were returning."

Thames Valley Police said previously that no one had been arrested following the incident. The BBC has asked the force for an update.