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VIDEO: Archive footage shows restoration work on historic Dundee bridge which was badly vandalised

A Dundee pensioner has unearthed old footage of a Dundee bridge being renovated, days after it was badly damaged by vandals.

Alex Forbes next to the vandalised Linlathen East Iron Bridge. He chronicled the renovation of the structure in 2012 on his camcorder.

Linlathen East Iron Bridge, which is thought to be the oldest iron bridge in Scotland, had stonework damaged and scattered nearby and in the Dighty Burn, which it crosses north of Broughty Ferry, on Sunday night.

Locals reacted with fury and disgust to the news, with one resident describing the actions of those responsible as “ridiculous”.

Some of the damage caused to the bridge.

Ferry councillor Craig Duncan called the vandalism “disgusting and malicious”.

Restoration

The 2012 restoration project saw £380,000 spent from Miller Homes as part of the Ferryfields Housing development, £50,000 from Historic Scotland and the remaining money provided by Dundee City Council.

Linlathen bridge vandalised footage.
The Linlathen Bridge before it was restored in 2012.

Alex Forbes, who lives in Douglas, recorded the work being carried out, when he was an avid member of Dundee Camcorder Club.

Alex, 84, a former driver in the building trade, said: “I read in the Courier at the time it was going to be renovated.

“At the start I actually started to film the wrong bridge, because there was two there, and I started to film the one further down.

“I got in contact with the owner of the firm that was doing the building work, to get his permission to film it.

“It was interesting. There’s a break in the middle of the footage, because I had a heart attack so I was in hospital for four days.

The bridge following the six-figure restoration work.

“When I went into Ninewells there were two men working on the steel side of the bridge, demolishing it and so forth and putting it together.

“When I came out of hospital it was all put together again and a lad was painting it.

“When I went into hospital it was all removed – on the video I’ve written where the last piece of the bridge was being taken off, that’s actually on the film.”

‘Disgraceful’

The footage shows the state of disrepair the bridge was in before the work started.

Workmen are seen dismantling parts of the structure, where parts are cleaned, restored and painted.

Some of the workmen on the job are interviewed and discuss the maintenance taking place.

The video ends with the damaged pieces being replaced and shots of the fully restored bridge.

Linlathen bridge vandalised footage
Alex at the Linlathen East Iron Bridge, thought to be the oldest iron bridge in Scotland.

Alex said that Dundee Camcorder Club membership had deteriorated over the years, adding that there weren’t many members left, and “coronavirus hadn’t helped numbers” over the past year.

He slammed the vandals who targeted the bridge.

“It think it’s ridiculous, I don’t know what (vandals) think about nowadays,” he added.

“When you look at the video and see the amount of work that was put into that, from the steel side of things, plus the stonework, it was a tremendous amount of work.

“The skill of the men who did it, and for somebody to come along and do the likes of that is absolutely disgraceful.”

Linlathen bridge vandalised footage
Ferry councillor Craig Duncan assessed the damage on Monday.

A spokesman for Dundee City Council said the extent of the vandalism is being assessed and repairs will be carried out “when possible”.