WORK continues in the long-awaited repair of the Grade II-listed Halfpenny Bridge.

The bridge connecting Lechlade to Highworth has been inaccessible to motorists after it was struck by a car in the early hours of June 20.

This caused disruption for locals and a loss of footfall for businesses in the area, but after weeks of waiting work finally started on repairing the historic structure at the beginning of this month. 

At the time divers were spotted retrieving parts of the wall and stone from the River Thames. 

This week, the stone retrieved from the river has been dried out, the scaffolding access platforms have been completed, damaged sections of the parapet were taken down and further assessment of subsurface defects encountered was carried out. 

Photos of the specially designed scaffolding have been posted online by the Riverside Pub, one of the businesses affected by the road closure. 

But, according to the current timeline on the Gloucestershire County Council website this was supposed to have happened by mid-August 2023.

After this, the work to repair the cracked parts of the bridge wall and restore the missing part is set to last eight weeks, with a 'demobilisation' date stated as mid-October 2023.

It is not known whether the end date of the works will be affected by this.