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Wales Online
Wales Online
National
Karen Price

The moment scaffolding dramatically collapses into a fast-flowing Welsh river

CCTV footage has captured the moment scaffolding put up to repair a bridge over the Rhondda River in  Pontypridd collapsed into the water .

The cameras at the nearby Bethany Baptist Church show how a section of the scaffolding collapsed into the river on the night of Friday, August 16, leaving a large section of twisted metal exposed and underwater.

The film clearly shows the scaffolding pieces breaking free before being carried along the fast and high-flowing river.

Castell Ifor bridge, in Ford Road in Hopkinstown and which connects to  Rhondda  road, has been under construction during recent months.

Damien Cole, from Pontypridd, walked past the bridge at 8.30am on Saturday and noticed the scaffolding had collapsed.

He said: "The river is higher than it usually is but it was worse last night."

A spokesman said Natural Resources Wales were made aware of the scaffolding collapse on Friday night and want to reassure local residents it does not present a flood risk.

A flood incident duty officer for Natural Resources Wales said on Saturday: "One of our officers was alerted to this last night and we have looked into it. Protecting people from flooding and keeping them safe is one of our biggest priorities.

"We have assessed it and, because of the area it's in which we know well, the blockage at present is not causing a risk of flooding for local people."

The aftermath of the scaffolding collapse (Damien Close)

The contractors who are carrying out the repairs on the bridge have been informed and are expected to fix the scaffolding on Monday.

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