Today we're remembering a series of years when Weymouth Town Bridge seemed to be continually stuck!

Between 2008 and 2010 the Dorset Echo reported 5 instances of the bridge becoming stuck.

Two of these incidents, in 2009 were during testing sessions when things didn't quite go to plan for the engineers. They caused brief disruption.

But a couple of other times when the bridge got stuck resulted in chaos.

The bridge enables traffic and pedestrians to cross Weymouth Harbour and saves a much longer journey around a body of water.

In October 2008 the town centre was brought to a standstill after a mechanical failure hit the Town Bridge.

Drivers who have already faced a week of hold-ups due to traffic control on the bridge were plunged into gridlock after problems with the lifting gear.

The Town Bridge developed a fault following the midday lift. During closing the two sides of the bridge failed to lock together, leaving a slight gap in the middle.

There were bizarre scenes as workmen prised open the barriers just enough to allow crowds to cross.

Dorset Echo:

But the bridge remained closed to traffic until the problem was fixed, causing a major jam in the town centre.

Weyline Taxis day manager John Sapsford said: “The traffic was backed up right through the town and it left everybody struggling.”

A spokesman for Weymouth and Portland Borough Council said the problem was caused by the interlocking system when the bridge drops down.

In October 2010 the bridge became stuck again, this time for an hour and 15 minutes.

And this time it was the barriers stuck!

It was caused by a technical glitch. Queues of cars and pedestrians were forced to make detours when the bridge barriers became stuck. A nearby shop worker said it took a colleague two hours to return home to Rodwell.

And staff members at Blondz hair salon were late in picking their children up from school.

Dorset Echo:

At the time, bridge engineer for Dorset County Council, Brian Samway said it was rare for the bridge to suffer problems.

He said a switch malfunction meant the bridge sequence was halted ‘at the last minute’, preventing the wedges from locking the bridge in place and the barriers from opening.

He added: “It took a little bit longer for the engineer to arrive due to the state of the town. This bridge has been very reliable – we’ve done a lot of work on it.”

Dorset Echo:

Barriers stuck on the bridge in October 2010

But that didn't stop the bridge from becoming stuck again, a month later, in November 2010.

A bus was stranded and pensioners in mobility scooters were forced to make detours.

Queues of cars and pedestrians gathered when the bridge ground to a halt during its 10am lift.

Dorset Echo:

A pedestrian shows her frustration as the bridge gets stuck in November 2010

First bus driver Clive Stone became stranded when he was unable to turn his vehicle around due to a narrow side street, roadworks and a pedestrian-only route.

He advised his passengers to depart and continue their journey to Portland via a bus from the back of Debenhams while he waited on the bus, on the St Thomas Street side of the bridge, for Dorset County Council bridge engineers to fix the problem.