The canal bridge hit 11 times by vehicles

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The bridge has been struck 11 times within the last five years - image © Google

A canal bridge which has been struck 11 times in five years by long vehicles could soon be protected by new restrictions.

Lancashire County Council (LCC) said the bill to repair damage to the bridge near Catforth village, north of Preston, had run to "hundreds of thousands of pounds".

The council said it was now planning to impose a maximum vehicle length of 23ft (7m) on bridge traffic. Exemptions would be made for the emergency services and Preston City Council bin lorries, it said.

A formal public consultation has now been launched into the council's proposals. The council said the views of local people had already been sought and were "generally favourable".

The narrow rural route runs from Catforth Road to the junction with Lea Lane and Rosemary Lane, passing over the M55 and bypassing Swillbrook.

A report from council highways bosses said: "Analysis of the path taken by various sized vehicles when crossing the bridge has shown that vehicles greater than 7m in length cannot pass over the bridge without a high risk of damaging the structure. This is due to the alignment of the approaches to the bridge and the angle that the bridge crosses the canal."

The document added that the incidents have created "a safety risk for road, towpath and canal users".