REPAIRS to a canal bridge on a tight bend between Gargrave and Bank Newton are due to be carried out sometime before the end of next year - three years after a section was badly damaged after being hit by a vehicle.

The listed Priest Holme bridge has been hit several times over the years with the last substantial damage caused sometime over the Christmas and New Year holiday in 2019/20. In 2009, while the bridge was in the process of being repaired, work was put back because of stone thieves.

A spokesperson for the Canal and River Trust said: "The repairs to Priest Holme Bridge will be done by the end of the financial year, March 2023. We are awaiting permissions such as traffic management, and a start date from our contractors who are on with the arrangements."

Earlier this year, the trust said repair of the bridge, which it planned to do by October, would cost around £25,000 and appealed to drivers to take greater care when negotiating it.