People watched in horror as coach neared Menai bridge before deciding to intervene

Local people sprang to the rescue when traffic management was suspended on Menai Suspension Bridge. A coach from South Wales was stopped by a passerby as it attempted to cross the 200-year-old bridge that's currently undergoing repairs.

She brought the coach to a halt by making its driver aware of the bridge's 7.5-tonne weight restriction, implemented to safeguard the crossing while heavy gantries are slung from its sides. To ensure compliance with the restriction, round-the-clock monitoring is usually undertaken by contractors.

But following abuse and harassment complaints by workers, tools were downed without warning on Monday night (July 27-28), leaving the bridge between Anglesey and Gwynedd unguarded.

Use of the bridge by overweight vehicles automatically triggers inspections requiring the crossings closure. Despite extensive signage, repeated breaches have caused multiple snarl-ups for local drivers, leaving affected communities fed up and on edge.

So when a 14-tonne Mercedes-Bench coach approached the unmanaged bridge on Tuesday afternoon, local residents took it upon themselves to intervene.

Watching on was Menai Bridge postman Mike Eyre who also runs the towns Post Office with wife Vicky. He said: I was driving behind the coach, a couple of cars back, returning from the Royal Mail depot in Bangor. I sounded my car horn, quite aggressively, but the coach continued towards the bridge.

A lady walking across the bridge managed to stop the coach - I assume its drivers window was down and she shouted through it. To be fair, the coach driver was very apologetic."

Mike continued: Traffic behind us began building very quickly, so I stopped my van by the roundabout to stop more vehicles approaching the bridge. With the lady, I then helped the coach driver turn around.

Luckily, the coach had stopped just before it reached the suspension bridge itself. It had gone under height restriction tape but when the coach reversed, the tape was brought down.

I believe the coach driver made a genuine mistake he thanked me for my help and said he was sorry, that it was a genuine misjudgement. Not all HGV drivers are doing it on purpose.

The most recent bridge closure, on Monday morning (July 27) was caused by a lorry driver who told bridge staff his vehicle weighed 6.8 tonnes and so was below the limit. Subsequent checks by the Traffic Wales control room revealed the vehicle actually weighed around 15 tonnes, more than double the permitted limit.

UK Highways A55 Ltd, which operates and maintains the bridge, said some drivers are even more brazen, openly ignoring warnings from management staff and crossing over regardless.

Traffic Wales oversight means that, had the coach crossed on Tuesday, it may have triggered a lengthy closure even in the absence of on-the-ground surveillance. For many drivers, Tuesdays need for local intervention, to prevent traffic bottlenecks on the A55 Britannia Bridge, highlighted fundamental flaws in the monitoring arrangements.

Every closure is greeted with increasing incredulity and anger. Online, comments such as how can drivers not see the dozens of signs? are commonplace.. On occasion, mounting frustration has been taken out on the staff responsible for controlling bridge movements, leading to yesterday's walk-out.

Mike, who drives across the bridge six times-a-day, has some sympathy with the monitoring team, which uses mobile phones to cross-check claimed weights. He believes the system is primarily at fault.

We all make mistakes and sitting at the roadside, watching passing traffic must be, well, boring, he said. Its like counting sheep to get to sleep and some staff may struggle to stay awake. Yet they are the last line of defence when it comes to protecting the bridge.

To be fair, I cross the bridge frequently and the workers always seem to be absolutely on top of the situation. Ive seen them stopping Waitrose vans: these are clearly under 7.5 tonnes but at least it shows they are on the case.

However all the Menai Bridge businesses agree that better arrangements are needed, and that the Welsh Government should stop treating North Wales residents like second class citizens. These constant closures cannot be allowed to continue.

Mike worries the issue is not just an immediate one, and that long-term solutions may be needed. After so many false dawns, no one believes the bridge repairs will actually be completed by the latest deadline, in spring 2027, he said.

Even now, there are unanswered questions, such as whether the weight restrictions will be retained when the work is finished. No one knows. As the bridge wasnt built for HGV traffic, it seems possible - but is anyone planning for this eventuality?

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