DIVERS have given York’s big bridges over the River Ouse the all-clear in the wake of the 2015 floods.

Underwater inspections have been carried out on the river bed and bridges to check for ‘scour’ - the phenomenon which in the River Wharfe led to the partial collapse of Tadcaster Bridge.

Documents obtained from City of York Council by The Press under the Freedom of Information Act show they concluded that the problem has not arisen in the Ouse.

Ouse Bridge, Lendal Bridge, Skeldergate Bridge and Rawcliffe Ings Bridge were also all said by the experts to be in a ‘fair’ condition, while Clifton Bridge was said to be in a ‘good’ condition.

Experts from GW Marine Systems Ltd were commissioned by the council to assess the state of the bridges earlier this year after the river came close to record levels in late 2015, causing major flooding.

They checked for scouring - the removal of sediment from around bridge abutments caused by swiftly moving water, which can lead to holes being scooped out.

But they also looked for problems such as missing masonry, bulging and open joints.

At Tadcaster, a hole several metres deep was scoured out of the river bed after the Wharfe rose to record levels on Boxing Day.

The inspectors said no scour had been found on the Ouse river bed at any of the sites and made no recommendations for remedial work at any of the Ouse bridges.

They found minor and normal weathering at Ouse Bridge, while at Lendal Bridge they found areas of corrosion and lamination in the deck and some seepage at abutments.

At Skeldergate Bridge, they found corrosion in the deck and fracture to an abutment.

At Rawcliffe Ings Bridge, they found no undermining of piers and at Clifton Bridge, the deck was in good condition.

The Press reported earlier this year that divers had inspected bridges along the River Foss - which also flooded badly in 2015 - and concluded that most were generally in a good condition.

However, the Blue Bridge - used by pedestrians and cyclists near the river’s confluence with the Ouse - was said to be in a very poor condition, due to the state of the timber deck which required attention immediately.

The Press reported recently that major repairs recommended by the inspectors had still not been carried out.

Cllr Ian Gillies, executive member for transport and planning at the council, said yesterday of the Ouse river inspections: “Our city’s rivers and bridges are of vital importance, so we’re obviously pleased that the underwater inspections have found no structural issues or cause for concern.

“We’ll keep monitoring the bridges to make sure that we can spot and deal with any issues which emerge at an early stage.”