A vibrant bridge which community leaders hope will become an “iconic” fixture in Moray’s biggest town will be guarded by CCTV to ward off vandals.
The Landshut Bridge in the Pansport area of Elgin was plunged into darkness recently due to a series of “mindless” acts of graffiti and damage to its electrical system.
Calls to re-light the bridge have prompted local authority bosses to step in with tighter security measures.
And now, the permanent replacement lights will not be inserted until CCTV is ready for instillation.
Yesterday, fears were raised that the wait could jeopardise the bridge being atmospherically lit red for Remembrance Sunday — as it was last year.
However, the council said it will put on “stand-in” red lights to honour our nation’s war dead.
These will be removed after this weekend and the permanent replacements will be inserted once the CCTV is on site.
Elgin Community Council chairman, Alastair Kennedy, said he was delighted the future of the bridge looked bright.
“I don’t know what the cost will be, but we are obviously delighted because we are looking for it to be an iconic bridge,” he said.
“It would be such a shame if the majority of the people were going to be denied the lighting because of a few mindless, wanton vandals.
“It would have taken a fair bit of bashing to kick in the lighting system, but here’s hoping that the CCTV will be enough to deter anyone from trying something like that again.”
A spokesman for the council said: “We are installing CCTV and new lighting onto the bridge, but that work will not be complete in time for this weekend’s Remembrance Sunday.
“However, we are fitting temporary lighting to ensure the bridge will be appropriately lit for this weekend, which will be removed afterwards until the CCTV is operational.”
Mr Kennedy said it was a nice touch from the council.
“That will be nice, just to be in-keeping with the time of year,” he said.
“The lighting makes it such a beautiful bridge, so fingers crossed that will be the end of any vandalism to it.”
The £66,100 structure was included in the Elgin Flood Alleviation Scheme, and upkeep of the lighting system costs about £1,039 per year.