An Argyll man is being forced to travel five miles a day to put his rubbish out because a canal bridge has broken down.
And Peter MacCallum, 52, who lives in a caravan at Balnakill Farm near Cairnbaan, Lochgilphead, now fears that the Dunardry Bridge across the Crinan Canal is so old it might not be repaired.
Scottish Canals said the 115-year-old bridge, which links Mr MacCallum’s home on the tow path side to the main road side, was too badly damaged to stay open, and has been out of commission since June 20.
Mr MacCallum claims that Scottish Canals told him the bridge was a historic monument and is concerned that this will simply mean the problems will persist.
Engineering inspections are now being carried out to establish the extent of the damage to see if it can be repaired.
There are seven bridges along the canal, many of which are several decades old and use a hand crank mechanism to open a passage for boats.
The Dunardry Bridge has been out of service for several short spells during the past 10 years.
The self employed gardener would normally drive 400 yards to get across Dunardry Bridge to stop and dispose of his bin bags, but now travels 1.25miles to the Cairnbaan Bridge and doubles back on the road side to access the bins before returning home.
Mr MacCallum said: “It’s a real inconvenience and an extra cost. It doesn’t help that the canal tow path is single track tarmac and you always come up behind joggers and dog walkers.
“The bridge is 115 years old. It’s quite remarkable they have not upgraded it to take modern traffic. The first traffic on it would have been horse and cart. If it is the case that Scottish Canals are not fulfilling their obligations to maintain it then they should put it in a museum and put in a practical bridge.
“I would like to know what their long term plans are for replacing these bridges. Transport Minister Derek Mackay was taking the plaudits for carrying out £4million of tow path repairs, but he should be getting involved with improving the state of these bridges.”
Andrew Stevenson, head of operational delivery at Scottish Canals, said: “We’ve kept the local community informed of our plans throughout the closure but would like to take this opportunity to assure them that we are doing all we can to bring Dunardry bridge back into operation as soon as possible. In the meantime, an alternate vehicle crossing is available at Cairnbaan Bridge, while pedestrians are able to cross the canal at any of the waterway’s lock gates.”