SPECIALIST engineers have been surprised to discover that a bridge which is nearly 240 years old is still in first-class condition.

The Grade II listed Winston Bridge, on the B6274 in Teesdale, County Durham, was thought to be in need of urgent structural repairs after the county council carried out survey work.

In a scheme to strengthen the bridge and bring it up to a 40-tonne capacity, the county council set aside £250,000 and called in specialist contractors to carry out the work.

But on closer inspection the 32-metre span bridge, which has one of the largest arches in Europe, was found to be in good condition and more than capable of carrying 40-tonne vehicles.

The county council is delighted, and has even picked up a Historic Bridge Award, which will be presented by the civil engineers and county surveyors at a ceremony in Barnard Castle today.

Chris Tunstall, the county council's director of environment and technical services, said: "We were stunned, to say the least.

"The bridge was built in 1763, but inspection showed it is in excellent condition and exhibits no evidence of the cracking and movement that are sometimes present in under-strength structures."

The bridge has had its fair share of traffic and floods over the years, and during the Second World War it carried thousands of tonnes of heavy military vehicles to a nearby Army base.

And it even enjoyed a bit of limelight in 1988 when a Supermarine Spitfire was flown through its arch as part of the television series A Piece of Cake.