Selby town centre was brought to a standstill today when the swing bridge over the River Ouse became stuck.

Massive jams were reported in all directions with tailbacks as far back as Brayton on the A19 and Thorpe Willoughby on the A63.

As traffic chaos descended on the town once again, frustrated motorists rang the Evening Press office in Selby on their mobile phones asking what the problem was.

A bridge keeper said the bridge had been closed to vehicles since about 10.20am when it became stuck in the close position.

He said there was no locking pin in and it would be dangerous for vehicles, although pedestrians were being allowed to go over.

He said: "We are waiting for an electrician and an engineer, and until they arrive there's nothing much we can do."

A Selby police spokesman said there was a CCTV camera covering the bridge, and they could see traffic queuing in all directions.

He said: "The town centre is jammed with quite a few tailbacks. The locking pin is apparently half-in and half-out, and the bridge isn't stable enough to take traffic.

"If we allowed traffic over, it could damage the bridge mechanism and give us even bigger problems."

He said traffic was being turned back at Barlby roundabout and diverted through Cawood and Wistow back on to the A63 and A19.

Traffic coming from the direction of Doncaster and Leeds were also being diverted through Cawood.

Many drivers of heavy goods vehicles, however, chose to "grin and bear it" and stayed put in Selby, waiting until the bridge was repaired because of a 7.5-tonne weight limit on Cawood Bridge.

The police spokesman said whenever there were problems with the swing bridge, it cut the town off from the outside world.

He added: "We will not let vehicles across until it is absolutely safe, and we would ask motorists to be patient."

The bridge - which used to charge tolls - is now owned by North Yorkshire County Council.

A council spokesman said a contracting firm from Hull, which normally carried out run-of-the-mill repair work on the bridge, was on its way to Selby.

He said: "We don't know exactly what the problem is at the moment, but we are giving the matter urgent attention, and hopefully they will be able to fix it straightaway."

Updated: 14:50 Friday, May 25, 2001