VILLAGERS have been forced to take lengthy diversions following the closure of a damaged bridge.

The stone bridge over the River Rye half a mile south of Rievaulx was closed on Friday after a resident at the cottage adjourning the bridge noticed cracks in its foundations.

Access to the bridge was completely blocked over the weekend.

David Johnson, the chairman of Rievaulx Parish Council, said the closure had caused lengthy diversions for villagers.

"The shortest way to Thirsk is over that bridge, so now to get to Tesco you have to go via Helmsley," he said.

"And the villagers in Old Byland and Scawton - on the west bank of the Rye - are effectively barred from going to Helmsley.

"They would normally just nip over the bridge and go through Rievaulx, but now they have to go via Thirsk, which is a long detour."

He said the North Yorkshire County Council inspector who investigated the damage to the bridge thought a tree trunk had broken off and hit the bottom of the structure during recent high waters.

"There's been a bridge there for hundreds of years. The present-day one has been there since the early 18th century," Mr Johnson said.

"That was built on medieval foundations on the riverbed, and it's been protected for many years by a concrete apron, which stops the river eroding the foundations.

"That has now cracked badly and has started to wash away. The river's fairly high at the moment and the foundation is being eroded.

"The bridge carries some heavy farming equipment and logging lorries."

The closure comes as the county council finishes repairs on the three bridges in Hornby which were destroyed during the floods in July 2005.

Coun Peter Sowray, the county council's executive member for highways, said: "We have hundreds of bridges in North Yorkshire, and many are very old.

"We inspect and maintain them on a regular basis. We will be making repairs to the Rievaulx bridge as soon as possible in the new year."