Moray Council has renewed its plea for walkers to stay off East Beach bridge in Lossiemouth after a resident filmed himself “bounce testing” it.
John Straw waded across the River Lossie to access the crossing, passing the safety barriers and closure signs he claims someone else took down.
He then filmed himself jumping up and down on the “apparently dubious” sections of bridge before declaring it “suspiciously solid”.
Moray Council closed the bridge – the main access to the busy beach – last month amid reports it had dropped noticeably with a loud “ping” noise as it was packed with people.
Part of a supporting truss had been seen falling into the water below.
Structural engineers found a massive corrosion problem, which had been worsened by the baking hot weather, as many as 3,800 users that day and several people ‘tombstoning’ from the crossing when it happened.
The crossing was deemed too expensive to repair and fundraising is already under way to have a new one built.
Mr Straw, a layman by his own admission, has suggested another opinion be sought, and claimed the bridge is “perfectly fine”.
Despite holes and visible rust he notes in the video, Mr Straw seemed convinced “it was not moving at all”.
He could be seen shaking the balustrade above the heavily rusted and jagged-looking supports, concluding they could not “cause anyone any harm because you can’t get your fingers through to them”.
But in a report issued by the council, engineers said “sharp broken pieces” of the crossing would pose a danger to anyone on the bridge should it collapse.
>> Keep up to date with the latest news with The P&J newsletter
On the Youtube video, Mr Straw said: “It looks to me, certainly from an individual perspective, this bridge is as solid as a rock. It just has some filigree problems.
“The big question is how many people could it take and I do not know the answer to that as I am not a structural engineer.
“I do think we should have another engineer come and have a look at this because this is suspiciously solid.”
A spokesman for Moray Council urged people to ignore the video and heed their safety advice to stay off the crossing.
He said: “We are aware of a video circulating on social media which shows a member of the public accessing the East Beach bridge in Lossiemouth.
“Can we reiterate that this bridge is closed on public safety grounds.
“Alternative access to the East Beach is via Arthurs Bridge. There is no access via the East Beach bridge.”
The local authority has tasked staff with securing access to the bridge again.