Express & Star

£45,000 bill after vehicle hits bridge in Wolverhampton

Motorists are being urged to slow down when crossing historic canal bridges after around £45,000 worth of damage was caused to a bridge over the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal when a vehicle hit it.

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The Canal & River Trust is making the appeal after the vehicle caused major damage to Dimmingsdale Bridge, which carries Ebstree Road, Wolverhampton, across the canal.

The impact caused a 15-metre section of brick parapet, or wall, to fall into the canal below and both the waterway and towpath had to be closed while the bricks were recovered.

Engineers have been working to assess the damage and start planning repair works.

The driver has been identified and so the trust hopes it will be able to recover the costs of repair.

However, this isn't always possible and the trust is often left to pick up the bill from hit-and-run incidents.

Ian Lane, trust waterway manager, said: "Brick bridges like this are such an important part of the area's history.

"Each time a bridge is hit a small bit of history is lost and it is heartbreaking for us to spend so much time and money caring for these amazing structures just to see them so carelessly damaged."

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