Bridge remnant turned into romantic souvenir for couple

Most people were pleased to see the old footbridges over the B1230 at Newport and Gilberdyke come down as they’d been redundant for years.

But the bridge at Newport meant more to one couple, Shelley and Neil Bishop, as it was where Neil proposed on New Year’s Eve in 1999.

The couple, who run the cafe at the Humber Bridge, met at the village pub in the August and after a whirlwind romance, Neil decided to pop the question.

When Shelley saw the bridge was coming down, she contacted East Riding Council’s principal engineer, Mike Ball, to ask if a small piece could be kept for her as a memento.

She said: “The night the bridge was going to be removed, me and Neil had to work a big event at our café at the Humber Bridge and couldn’t have made it back in time to see it come down.

“I decided to call the council and see if a piece could be kept for me. I asked if I could perhaps have the foot plate from the centre of the bridge and Mike said he would see what he could do.”

Mr Ball asked the contractor to cut a 1kg piece of steel from one of the upper supports in the shape of a heart, which they did for free.

Mr Ball said: “It is great that the council could provide Mr and Mrs Bishop with this memento, which I am sure they will cherish for many years to come.”

Shelley will now have the steel heart cleaned up and hopes to have it engraved. The footbridges will be recycled.