Popular footpath closed over 'serious' river breach

A popular footpath along a river has been closed off to walkers after a bank was breached.

Suffolk County Council was alerted to the issue, described as a "serious health and safety concern", by footpath 44 along the River Stour near Dedham and East Bergholt on the border between Essex and Suffolk.

While the riverbank is not the council's responsibility the authority said it was in contact with the relevant stakeholders.

Liz Humphrey said she had intended to take a walk along the footpath and there were no signs warning of any problems.

"We parked in Dedham to have a walk through to Flatford," she explained.

"[There were] certainly no signs of any footpath problems but there is a very nasty point as you reach toward Flatford where the only way across [the breach] is by some logs that some kind person obviously put down.

"Although we managed it we saw a gentleman fall in - he was alright but a lot of people take this footpath."

Peter Brunning also came across the issue during a walk and said it was not easy to walk in the area.

"The difficulty here is if your balance isn't good you're going to end up in the water," he said.

A spokesperson for Suffolk Highways said: "The public footpath has been temporarily closed due to a health and safety risk caused by the River Stour riverbank.

"Whilst the riverbank is not the responsibility of Suffolk County Council, we are in contact with the relevant stakeholders and are making every effort to ensure the route is reopened as soon as possible."

The Environment Agency has confirmed that it is not responsible for this section of the riverbank.

"We cannot advise on any plans to notify walkers about the path or when the bank will be repaired," an agency spokeswoman said.

"The landowner is responsible for repairs to the riverbank and footpath responsibility usually falls under council departments, landowner, or other interested party in conjunction with the landowner."

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