West Mercia Police face bill for bridge repairs after crash

Council bosses want to recover the full cost of repairing Worcester Bridge from West Mercia Police.

But the financial cost of fixing the historic bridge has still not been publicly revealed.

Specialist materials and conservation techniques are needed to preserve the bridge’s historic character, Worcestershire County Council has said, and repair work could take up to three weeks.

Work includes sourcing similar stone and matching it to the bridge’s existing stonework, as it was decided that parts of the original bridge would not be recovered from the riverbed.

Surveys showed the submerged stone was likely to be damaged and was not posing a risk to river users or the bridge itself.

It was decided that recovering the stone wasn’t worth the “significant cost”.

After getting listed building consent, work started earlier this week with motorists warned to expect delays.

A spokesperson for Worcestershire County Council said: “We will be looking to recoup all costs relating to the Worcester Bridge incident including the preparation works, scheme design and management of the repair, once the repair is complete. We remain in discussions with all parties involved.”

The council did not respond to questions asking what expenditure it had incurred so far or the agreed contract value for the repair works.

A West Mercia Police spokesperson said: “The matter is currently being dealt with by our insurers who are in contact with the local authority. We are unable to comment any further.”

The force previously said the crash was caused by a loose laptop that became lodged in the car’s steering column.

After reviewing the crash, police chiefs decided the officer driving the car would face no misconduct action.

Councillor Tor Pingree said this week: “I am glad to see the works have started on repairing the city bridge.

“The iconic and historic bridge requires specialist stonemason work to ensure it is in keeping with the original design.

“I understand some concern about the traffic flow through the area but hopefully we can keep this to a minimum throughout the repair.”