DRIVERS faced an unexpected delay when Weymouth's famous 77-year-old Town Bridge became stuck in the open position.

Traffic swiftly built up when the bridge, which was built in 1930, jammed for nearly 45 minutes before being safely released.

Dorset County Council principal bridges engineer John Burridge said the jam had been caused by an electrical problem.

He added: "It appears that there was a bit of a power surge which tripped all the electrics.

"They all had to be reset, but no damage was caused to the bridge which is now operating normally again."

Weymouth and Portland Borough Council transport spokesman Coun Christine James said: "Weymouth Town Bridge is operated by the borough council on behalf of Dorset County Council.

"Unfortunately it got stuck open for a short time because of an electrical fault but an engineer was called immediately and it was fixed in less than an hour.

"We lift it around 1,700 times a year and it is very rare that we have any problems."

The first bridge linking the boroughs of Weymouth and Melcombe Regis was a wooden structure of 17 arches with a drawbridge which was built in 1597.