A WELL-USED pedestrian bridge has been re-opened following a vandalism attack last week.

On Wednesday (24th July) it was reported that vandals had damaged the walls of Tibbs Bridge in Monmouth, the pedestrian bridge near Monmouth Castle that takes people over the River Monnow onto Vauxhall Fields.

In a statement to the Beacon from the Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers (Militia), it was said that the walls of the stairway leading up to the bridge from the Vauxhall side had been kicked down, with the stairs “completely exposed to a fall either side onto a barbed wire fence.”

This is the second time the bridge has been vandalised in the past two months.

The original Tibbs bridge was built by the owner of The Beaufort Arms who had laid out pleasure gardens on Vauxhall.

The modern bridge we see today was built by Nusteel Structures and opened in August 1990 by the mayor at that time, Councillor Richard Bond.

Temporary repairs to the bridge have now been put in place, with fencing been fitted either side of the steps on the Vauxhall side of the bridge, designed to reduce the possibility of falls on to the fence below.

A statement from the regiment added that the repairs had been made with “minimal available resources”, but are relatively robust.

“As such the Ministry of Defence accepts no liability or responsibility for any injuries or loss of life resulting from members of the public utilising Tibbs Bridge,” the statement added. “Members of the public are advised not to use the bridge until permanent repairs are made.

“Should the temporary repairs be subject to any further criminal damage whilst we await physical consultation with the contractor, then the bridge will be re-locked and fenced off completely from public use.”