A PENSIONER is concerned about the poor state of a damaged Worcester footbridge, which he fears could cause injury to a child.

Raymond Roberts of Ambrose Close, St John’s, regularly uses the Sabrina Bridge across the river Severn in Worcester but says it has fallen into disrepair and now fears it could shut.

He is also concerned a child could get his or her foot trapped between gaps in the boards of the bridge.

He says the money spent on the new £2 million Diglis Bridge, which opened on Tuesday, should have been spent on repairing and maintaining the Sabrina Bridge instead.

But Coun Derek Prodger, cabinet member for transport and safe environment at Worcestershire County Council said the Sabrina Bridge would be repaired and promised it would not be closed.

Coun Prodger also said the cash for the new bridge – which includes money from the county council, lottery money and from section 106 agreements – was ring-fenced, and as such could not be diverted into repairing the Sabrina Bridge.

The new bridge links Navigation Road in Diglis with Lower Wick, connecting the cycling and walking paths on either side of the river.

Mr Roberts said he made a complaint about the condition of Sabrina Bridge to Worcestershire County Council on Tuesday, June 1, Thursday, July 8, and Thursday, July 15.

He said: “A child’s foot could go down the gap and nobody seems to want to know about it.

“I just don’t want to see anyone get hurt. I went to Farrier Street to register my concerns on Thursday, July 8, and I showed a member of staff a photograph of the bridge.

“She said ‘oh my God, that’s an emergency job’ but nobody had a look at it until Monday, July 12 and nothing has been done to repair it. The boards are going and in a few years they will be closing it off because they can’t afford to fix it. Instead of the new Diglis Bridge, they would have been better off spending the money on Sabrina Bridge.”

Coun Prodger, who noticed the bridge needed repairs when he walked across it himself on Wednesday, said there was money in the £6 million highways maintenance budget to pay for the repairs.

He said: “It will be repaired and won’t be closed.

“I promise him that. Those slats are not dangerous but they do need to be repaired.”