Lifeboat delay fear as bridge closure splits town

A lifeboat crew fears lives could be put in danger due to delays caused by an emergency road bridge closure which has cut a south of Scotland town in two.

The majority of Kirkcudbright's RNLI volunteers would usually use the crossing when called out to incidents.

However, the bridge is now closed with a five-mile (8km) road diversion in place which operations manager John Collins said would inevitably increase their response times.

Dumfries and Galloway Council said it was working closely with emergency services to discuss ways to "minimise impact" as a matter of priority.

The local authority shut the bridge to vehicles at 19:00 on Friday due to safety concerns following an inspection by structural engineers.

Kirkcudbright's usual lifeboat station is currently closed for a major renovation with the crew operating out of the town's marina.

Most of the volunteers would normally cross the bridge - which has been shut to everything bar cyclists and pedestrians - in order to get there.

Mr Collins said the closure had come as something of a surprise.

"We only found out when it came out on social media on Friday evening - that was the first we knew of it," he said.

"We have got 14 seagoing crew and, out of that 14, nine of us live on the other side of the bridge so it is going to impact our response time.

"All of our helms – we've got five helms on the crew - and they all live on the other side of the bridge. We can't launch the boat without the helms so it will slow us down."

He said he had no doubt there were safety reasons for the decision but it was going to have an effect.

"It is about a five-mile detour to get to the station by road," he said.

"If there was somewhere we could leave a car at the other side it would help greatly because they could run over the bridge.

"Time is essential – not every call-out is a life or death situation but you have got to treat them all as if they could be – we try and get the boat to sea as quickly as we possibly can."

He said they were now working on finding some kind of solution as there was unlikely to be a "quick fix".

"It would help greatly if there was provision to park the car on the other side of the bridge," he said.

"Lives could be in danger if our response time is slowed down – that is the biggest worry.

"We will just have to do what we can and hopefully it will work."

Derek Collins, of the local community council, was also critical of how the situation had been handled.

"The message came out about six o'clock that the bridge was closing at seven," he said.

"The biggest impact is on the people who live in Mersecroft who have got quite a journey to get into the town.

"There is still pedestrian and cycle access but the biggest impact will be for people living over there."

Mr Collins said it had been known for some time that the bridge had been deteriorating despite efforts to stop heavier vehicles using it.

"I have to say I think a lot of people would agree that you can put up as many signs as you like but there is a minority who will continue to go on the bridge," he said.

"I don't think it will be a cheap fix - it will involve quite a big outlay."

The bridge was constructed in 1926, replacing a Victorian bridge built in 1868, and provides a direct route west out of Kirkcudbright.

Earlier this year, a 7.5-tonne weight limit was imposed because of reports of heavy vehicles regularly breaching the previous 17-tonne limit.

The council said it understood the inconvenience the closure would cause and was working with everyone to minimise disruption.

A signed diversion is in place and the local authority said there were no plans to reopen to cars and apologised for any inconvenience.

A shuttle bus has been put in place and school bus routes changed.