Workmen remove the damaged footbridge on Hazledine Way in Shrewsbury.

This is the moment a deck of a footbridge in Shrewsbury was removed, hours after it was seriously damaged when a digger on the back of a lorry smashed into it.

The bridge over Hazledine Way was left teetering on the brink of collapse after the incident yesterday at about 7.40am.

Last night Shropshire Council’s contractors moved in to remove the damaged deck of the bridge, with workers busy removing the structure until the early hours of today in order to get the road reopened in time for the morning rush hour.

Today builder Stephen O’Donoghue told of his “lucky escape” after debris from the bridge tumbled down on his van as the structure threatened to collapse.

Mr O’Donoghue said he felt shocked and did not know what to do as he followed the lorry carrying the digger under the bridge. He travelled under the bridge just moments after the digger smashed into it.

Mr O’Donoghue, from Wellington, said all he could do was hold his hands on his head as he went under the bridge after seeing it lift up after it was struck.

The 43-year-old, who was travelling with business partner Simon Jones, 37, from Bayston Hill near Shrewsbury, said: “The lorry hit the bridge and we went through after it and the debris was falling on the van and we didn’t have time to stop.

“We saw it lift and come down. It really shook us up. I feel like we’ve had a lucky escape. There’s a couple of dents in the van but it hasn’t done much damage.”

The pair run Shrewsbury-based S&S Contemporary and Traditional Builders and were travelling to a job in the Column area of the town at the time of the incident yesterday morning.

The repair bill for the bridge is thought to cost in the region of £100,000.

Shropshire Council spokeswoman Laura Owen said: “Last night Shropshire Council’s officers, their contractors, Enterprise, and their consultants, Mouchel, worked until the early hours of the morning to remove the damaged deck from the Hazledine Way footbridge in Shrewsbury.

“Now this section has been removed, Hazledine Way, has been reopened to all traffic including vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians, in time for this morning’s rush hour.”

By John Kirk