SOMERSET has the third highest number of 'substandard' bridges in Britain.

In 2019, Somerset had 160 substandard bridges and that number has decreased slightly to 153 - but in comparison with the rest of the country, this is still a high number.

READ MORE: Bridges in Somerset labelled at 'substandard' 

Devon has the most, with 233, followed by Essex, with 165, according to data obtained by motoring research charity RAC Foundation.

These substandard bridges are unable to carry the heaviest vehicles on our roads and so have weight restrictions or are under monitoring programmes.

Somerset County Council (SCC) has said the county has a "high number of bridges" and a "small portion" of those are substandard.

"A relatively small of proportion of which are classed as substandard simply because they are theoretically unsuitable for 44 tonne lorries, either due to weight, width or height," said a spokesperson for SCC.

"This includes structures such as clapper bridges, swing bridges and culverts which would never be used by 44 tonne lorries in any case. Many others are protected by weight limits, either on the bridge or on the route.

"It should also be noted that whilst a bridge may be classed as substandard it could be due to only one specific element of the structure being substandard, for example, just the footways with the carriageway being up to standard.

"We have robust inspection regimes in place and ensure all bridges classed as substandard are subject to higher levels of scrutiny to ensure to ensure they are suitable for the traffic using them.”

Some 3,105 council-owned bridges in Britain were substandard as of October 2020, which is 50 more than the previous year.

Councils reported that 10 bridges across Britain had fully collapsed during the previous 12 months, with 30 suffering a partial collapse. Despite these failures, the research indicates that there has been a decline in the number of bridges receiving an initial scour assessment for damage caused by river flow, down 9 per cent year-on-year.