A BELEAGUERED North-East engineering firm has finally found something to celebrate - the opening of one of the world's longest cable bridges.

Cleveland Bridge, which recently pulled out of the Wembley Stadium project and last week axed 95 workers, helped to build the Rion-Antirion, across the Gulf of Corinth, in Greece.

Last night, it heralded its part in the project, which was completed four-and-a-half months ahead of schedule.

The official opening of the bridge tomorrow, a day before the start of the Olympic Games, in Athens, will be a much-needed boost for the Darlington firm after weeks of wrangling with Multiplex, the main contractor at Wembley.

Project manager Alan Platt said: "The bridge has been an amazing project and an awesome achievement for all of us who have been involved.

"We feel honoured to have been a part of building this monster structure."

Cleveland Bridge representatives joined in festivities at the bridge at the weekend, including the Olympic Flame crossing over it, followed by the Greek Olympic football team.

The Rion-Antirion bridge, which provides a link between the Peloponnese and mainland Greece, has a single span of 560m and ranks in the top ten list of the world's longest spans for cable-stayed bridges, as well as having the longest suspended deck in the world, at 1,966m.

Mr Platt said: "It's been a challenging ride for Cleveland Bridge since we started work for main contractor Kinopraxia Gefyra in August 2001, overcoming significant problems to help the client complete the project four-and-a-half months ahead of schedule.

"The team has taken all these issues in its stride and produced a superior bridge, which many feel will become as synonymous with Greek legacy as the ancient Greek gods.

"This weekend's celebration was the perfect way to mark the successful completion for all of us who have worked so hard on this tremendous project."

The bridge could withstand a collision with a 180,000 ton tanker, wind speed of up to 250km per hour and an earthquake that reached more than seven on the Richter scale.

Bridge designers say that in the event of an earthquake, the bridge is one of the safest places to be in the whole of Greece.