FLOOD-damaged bridges in a tiny village in the region will not be completely repaired until next summer - by which time £2m will have been spent.

All three bridges in Hawnby, near Helmsley, North Yorkshire, were badly damaged when the area was ravaged by flash floods, last June.

The repair of Church Bridge is almost complete and Chapel Bridge was made passable by the installation of a temporary structure immediately after the floods.

However, the third, Shaken Bridge, was the most seriously affected and emergency work has been carried out to provide support to the structure and put a temporary bridge alongside.

But a single contract is now to be let to complete the permanent repairs to Shaken and Chapel bridges and all repair work should be completed by late summer next year.

Shaken Bridge was particularly badly damaged in the floods - the south-west abutment corner and one third of the downstream arch were washed away.

The bridge comprised two separate arches built side by side. The downstream section of the bridge collapsed in September.

After successfully supporting the upstream section, the old timber foundations were found to be undermined and rotten, so action had to be taken to underpin the bridge with concrete, using a team of divers.

When the bridge is fully repaired it will replicate the original appearance of the old structure - and much of the original stone has been recovered from the site for re-use.

Reconstruction work will begin early in the New Year and it is hoped the bridge will be reopened by next August.

The total spend to date on bridges as a result of the Ryedale floods is about £1m. The final costs are expected to be more than £2m.