CYCLISTS can rejoice - Lancaster's Millennium Cycleway is open again after almost a year.

It was closed last summer when a hole appeared in the floor of a former railway viaduct at Crook o'Lune, near Caton.

Lancashire County Council had to ban walkers and cyclists alike from the bridge 'temporarily' for repairs - work which has taken a full 12 months.

It was estimated it would cost £500,000 to put the bridge right. But the county has revealed this week it has cost the taxpayer a staggering £880,000.

The Grade Two listed bridge needed major structural repairs, says a council spokesman,. It was almost taken apart stone-by-stone before being put back together.

"It wasn't just a case of getting the trowel out and re-pointing. The work had to be done in a sympathetic manner to maintain its original state," says the spokesman.

"The repair was a slow process and cost £880,000. It was anything but a simple rendering job. But around a quarter-of-a-million people use the bridge each year so the money is well spent."

He adds that small winged mammals are also happy with the repairs - workers have discovered a colony of noctule bats living in the structure of the viaduct.

The bridge is now fully open after the work and an official opening ceremony will be held on Tuesday, September 6.