SAFETY concerns have been raised over a Weymouth bridge costing thousands of pounds after a woman attempted to jump over the railings.

Police were called to the newly opened Newstead Bridge in Weymouth by a passer-by who raised the alarm.

He called for the bridge – which cost £835,000 – to be covered to prevent similar incidents.

The man, who does not wish to be named, said: “I saw the girl standing in the middle of the bridge when I was driving over to the Granby industrial estate.

“When I came back again she was still there. I stopped the car and saw she was crying.

“She put one leg over the railing and that’s when I called the police and she ran off.

“ I heard that, thankfully, the police had caught up with her and taken her to safety.

“This will happen again and again until a cover is put over it.

“At the moment, it’s an ideal bridge for that sort of thing.”

The bridge – hailed as a centrepiece of the Rodwell Trail – is part of a national project from cycle charity Sustrans.

Coun Ian James, who is the Weymouth and Portland borough councillor for the area, said: “We should be dealing with the unfortunate person involved in this incident and not with the bridge itself.

“It’s a wonderful bridge. I wouldn’t like to disfigure something that has gone through so much consultation on the grounds of one incident.

“I have sympathy for the person who attempted to jump and commend the man who prevented that from happening.

“But there are hundreds of people who want to use this bridge every day. If we are to put a cover over it, where do we stop?”

The new footbridge over Newstead Road joins two parts of the Rodwell Trail, the path and cycleway which follows the old railway line from the town centre to Ferrybridge.

Adrian Roper, who is South West regional director of Sustrans, said: “People are much more likely to walk or cycle for local journeys if the environment around them is pleasant and attractive.

“The Newstead Road bridge is providing just such a space and we know people really value it.

“Covering the bridge would make it far less attractive and as such Sustrans has no plans to fund this.”

A spokeswoman for Dorset Police said: “Officers received a report of concern for welfare as a woman was standing on the wrong side of the railings on the Newstead Bridge.

“A 22-year-old woman was located near the Rodwell Trail and taken to a place of safety.”

A spokeswoman for Dorset County Council added: “There are no proposals to put a cover over the bridge as part of the scheme. We will look into the incident following investigations by Dorset Police.”