THE Canal and River Trust says repairs will have to be carried out after one of its listed canal bridges near Gargrave was badly damaged sometime over the Christmas and New Year holiday.

The Priest Holme Changeline Bridge (168), situated on a sharp bend between Gargrave and Bank Newton, is believed to have been damaged after being hit by a vehicle.

It happened just weeks after the opposite side of the bridge also suffered damage and before it could be completely repaired.

Paul House, the Canal and River Trust’s area operations manager for Yorkshire and the North East, said: “The bridge was damaged sometime over the Christmas and New Year period, and we are now evaluating the extent of the repairs needed. “We do not have a timescale or cost for the works yet, but it is likely that we will have to install temporary traffic lights while the repairs are carried out.”