REBUILDING work on Mercury bridge in Richmond could start within a month, according to North Yorkshire County Council.

The bridge has been completely closed for a month after flooding caused the collapse of the central pier.

Restoration work on the bridge was discussed at a meeting involving councillors at county, district, town and parish levels last Friday.

Mr Mike Moore, director of environmental services for the county council was at the meeting.

He said: "The opinion has always been that priority should rest with making the bridge safe, preventing further damage and working to support the structure as soon as possible so that rebuilding work can start by the end of the month.

"Once the bridge has been made safe then we will be in a position to assess its carrying capacity, possibly for use by light traffic."

Mr Moore said work has already started on making the girders which will support the bridge while rebuilding is carried out.

He added that it was hoped to have the support structure in place by early August and that stone is being put in the river to divert it away from the central pier and prevent further scouring.

The meeting was told that trying to put a Bailey bridge on the site would not only be expensive and time consuming, but would actually disrupt the long-term restoration of the bridge.

The county council says it will carry out an assessment of the current free bus service to see whether it should continue when a pedestrian way is provided across the bridge. More detailed information was also promised for people living alongside the diversionary route.

Coun John Blackie, the leader of Richmondshire District Council, who chaired last Friday's meeting, said: "It was a well attended and positive meeting and Mike Moore was able to provide the latest information on the situation.

"There is naturally still concern over the continuing effect the bridge closure is having on people and businesses in Richmond, so another meeting has been arranged for five weeks to assess progress."