Motorists in Dundee unwittingly faced potential danger when a pane of glass on an overhead walkway was left “hanging by a thread” over busy traffic.
Security staff patrolling the bridge, which sits above the carriageway near the Riverside roundabout, raised the alarm after they discovered one of the window panels dangling perilously above the oncoming cars.
Emergency services attended at around 5.10 and immediately closed the road below to prevent potential injury to any approaching motorists.
Fire crews used a height appliance to remove the glass from the walkway — which connects Tayside House and Olympia Leisure Centre — before the council’s rapid response unit arrived to board up the gap in the bridge.
Although there was a heavy build-up of traffic on the west-bound carriageway while the walkway was being repaired, the road was running as normal a short time later.
Tayside Fire and Rescue watch manager Ewan Baird said, “When we arrived the window panel was hanging by a thread over the road.
“We used our height appliance to go up and remove the pane from the bridge as it could have fallen on to the busy road below. It was certainly in a dangerous position when we arrived.”
A police spokesman confirmed the incident was not being treated as vandalism and said weather may have caused the damage.
People last night voiced concerns about the condition of the walkway following the incident.
Sarah Watters (28) said, “The whole panel was just hanging down over the road.
“Imagine if it had fallen into traffic?
“Someone could have been seriously hurt.”
She added, “I walk across here quite a lot and it has been in bad condition.
“People are obviously smashing the windows because there are a few broken or have been boarded over.
“It is dangerous.”
One mother, who was collecting her son from Olympia Leisure Centre, said, “The walkway has been in a state for ages. Nobody cares about it.
“The windows need to be safer if people, especially young children, are using it.
“It could have caused a serious accident.”
The city council plans to pull down the structure as part of the central waterfront redevelopment, although it is understood it will not be removed for some time.
Concerned locals had raised fears about the condition of the walkway just over two weeks ago, describing the thoroughfare as “unsafe and unsightly.”
One resident reported that several panes of glass in the walkway were missing and had only been patched over by unstable sheets of wood.
He said vandals had also smashed a number of panels along the tunnel.
However, when the council responded to concerns in February a spokeswoman insisted the walkway was safe.