Man arrested after crash on bridge
Westmorland and Furness CouncilA man has been arrested for allegedly crashing into a bridge in the early hours.
Nether Bridge in Kendal, had been closed to traffic after a vehicle crashed into the stone wall shortly before 01:00 BST.
Cumbria Police said no-one was injured and a man has been arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving.
The force said the vehicle had been recovered. The bridge reopened shortly after 10:00 BST and traffic management and is now in place.
Westmorland and Furness Council said the crash had caused "significant damage" to the bridge and urged drivers to allow extra time for their journeys.
A council spokesperson said the bridge is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and about 10m (32ft) of the parapet wall had been displaced by the crash.
Westmorland and Furness Council"The next stage of works will be to recover what we can of the heritage stonework that has been knocked into the river, so that this can be reused in the repair where possible," they said.
The stones are expected to be recovered next week after the council arranges a habitat assessment to be carried out and applies for Natural England Assent.
It will be several months before repair work begins as the council said it would need to hire a contractor with experience of "high-profile heritage work" and receive consent from the Environment Agency.