A look back at a memorable report from the 1960s...

A BRIDGE could be a killer. That’s according to Bill Nuttall of Shore Top Farm, Radcliffe.

The bridge, which crosses the River Irwell where it forms the boundary between Radcliffe and Little Lever at Ladyshore, was closed to the public in 1959 when both Radcliffe and Little Lever Council's agreed that it was deteriorating into a dangerous condition and that so few people used it that it was not worth spending the considerable sum needed to make it safe.

Barbed wire was wound round both ends of the bridge, but, claims Mr Nuttall, this is no deterrent to children who gain easy access and play on the bridge.

He contends that if it was unsafe eight years ago the bridge is now downright dangerous and should be demolished. Unless something is done – and soon – he says, the bridge, which is about 45 feet above the surface of the river at one of its loneliest spots, will be the source and site of a tragedy.