The death of a policeman swept away in recent floods has been marked by naming a rapidly-built replacement bridge in his name.

Building work has been completed on the new footbridge which is now reuniting a town split in two by heavy flooding last month has been named in honour of the hero policeman swept to his death when a bridge collapsed beneath him.

PC Bill Barker died when Northside Bridge collapsed in heavy flooding.

The new 52-metre Barker Crossing in Workington is named after PC Bill Barker who died directing traffic off Northside Bridge when it collapsed.


The temporary footbridge is the first pedestrianised link across the River Derwent to reconnect the north and south sides of the Cumbrian town.

Previously, residents could only cross the river by boarding a train.

The steel bridge was constructed by the Army and is similar to those built by soldiers in Afghanistan.

Armed Forces minister Bill Rammell MP and schools minister Iain Wright MP also attended the opening alongside Brigadier Bill Aldridge, Commander 42 (North West) Brigade.

Brig Aldridge said: "The Army is delighted to have completed this small but significant part of a much larger and wider effort to help this part of Cumbria get back on its feet after the floods.

"Our soldiers have worked round the clock to get us to where we are today, opening this footbridge on time to meet the morning school run."

The new footbridge is 300m upstream of unusable Calva Bridge, which is currently being assessed for repair or demolition.

Cumbria County Council engineers are assessing potential sites for a new road bridge, but the project might not be completed until next summer.

(BMcC/GK)