A ONE-TIME chairman of Ludlow Civic Society has described the Ludford Bridge as looking like a ‘patchwork quilt'.

John Nash was speaking at a public meeting about the future of the bridge.

He was concerned about the repair to the bridge that dates back to the Civil War and was closed for three months earlier this year after being hit by a reversing lorry.

“There is a general feeling that it looks like a patchwork quilt,” said John Nash.

“Time will tell but the initial reaction to the work was very negative.”

But Andy Wigley, the natural historic environment manager with Shropshire Council, defended the repair.

“Ideally we would quarry new stone but many historic quarries are now shut,” he said.

Andy Wigley told the meeting that the objective had been to do as ‘sympathetic a repair’ as possible but that the team involved was very aware of the need to get the bridge open again as quickly as possible because of the damage caused by the closure to businesses in the town.

“I accept that it was a compromise,” he added.

Andy Boddington, the Shropshire Councillor for Ludlow North, said that the important thing is to try to learn lessons for the future.

“We need to think about having a source of stone that is available when it is needed in the future because Ludlow has a lot of old buildings,” Andy Boddington said.