A COMMUNITY'S five-year struggle to build a footbridge over the River Tees has run into further problems.

Residents of Mickleton, in Teesdale, County Durham, spent years raising more than £200,000 to build a footbridge close to the village, which would be part of the popular walking route the Teesdale Way.

After two public inquiries, Mickleton Village Hall Association succeeded in getting the go-ahead to begin work on the bridge, in June last year. But hopes of attracting more ramblers to the area were dampened just weeks after the bridge was opened last December.

The outbreak of foot-and-mouth in Teesdale meant the bridge fell into a 3km radius of an infected farm, and the bridge had to be closed. Now residents have found that its official opening, due to take place in March, may have to wait until next year.

David Hutchinson, of the Mickleton Village Hall Association, said: "We spent a lot of time and effort to get the bridge built, and after so long it is ironic that the bridge was closed straight away. We were hoping to see plenty of ramblers using the bridge, but that has not happened because of foot-and-mouth.

"We will have to wait until foot-and-mouth is cleared, which we hope will not be too far away."