A TEMPORARY bridge over the River Teme will be built at Eastham but it will be Christmas at the earliest before it is ready.

This means that people in the village will face a 10 mile diversion through narrow country lanes for at least six months.

Hope of a quick solution following the collapse of Eastham Bridge last month have been dashed.

Worcestershire County Council say that it will take many months of preparation before a temporary structure can be in place.

It will be years before the 220 year old grade II listed bridge can be repaired and even then it is unlikely that it will be allowed to carry heavy loads.

This could mean a completely new bridge with a repaired Eastham Bridge becoming a crossing for pedestrians and light traffic.

"We are doing everything that we can to minimise the disruption caused by the collapse of Eastham Bridge,” said Marcus Hart, Cabinet member with responsibility for highways at Worcestershire County Council.

He said the County Council is working closely with the Environment Agency, Historic England and at Malvern Hills District Council.

"Our detailed investigations into the cause of the collapse continue and our contractors are already on site and preparing the groundworks to examine and remove the remains of the bridge,” added Marcus Hart.

"Eastham Bridge was last inspected in December 2015 and Worcestershire County Council wasn't alerted to any concerns about the stability of the bridge. Until our investigations are completed I am not able to speculate about what caused the bridge to collapse.

 "We have held discussions with specialist engineering companies, including the one suggested by the Army.

“Following those talks I can confirm that we will be building a temporary bridge on the site before we construct a permanent replacement.

“But this is a complex building project. The area is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest and the bridge was grade II listed.

"To complete the survey work, the design, securing the statutory approvals and completing the build is going to take approximately six months.

"In the meantime we will be talking to local residents and to farmers about what we can do to minimise the disruption and that may include us running a shuttle bus service if that is what residents want."