A LARGE section of a weir in Colchester's Castle Park has collapsed into the river Colne.

Brickwork fell into the river at the site of the former Middle Mill on Sunday morning.

Colchester City Council has now closed the footbridge and a section surrounding the weir as a safety precaution.

Colchester High Steward Sir Bob Russell said repairs had been made to the weir just last year.

"The weir is in two horizontal sections – each independently operated," he said.

"One of the two sections has been swept away with the collapse of the river brick wall, which separates the weirs and the water course going through where the mill wheel used to be.

"Major repairs were undertaken here in 2000 and last year part of the same wall was repaired after water penetrated the wall and washed away the soil, resulting in a hole appearing in the path on the section of pavement on the 'solid' part of the structure.

"It is the same wall which has collapsed, causing half the weir to collapse.

"There is now no way the river level can be maintained up river of Middle Mill.

"Last year’s repair took several weeks - my guess is that this time the repair will take several months"

The now closed bridge over the river Colne at Middle Mill is a busy pedestrian route across Kings Meadow into the city centre.

Sir Bob added that a time capsule placed under a monument in 2000, to mark the major repairs, has been salvaged and a small monument is still in situ.

"There is evidence to suggest that there was a water mill here in Saxon times, before the Norman Conquest in 1066," he added.

"A water mill existed here for perhaps 1,000 years, beyond the First World War, I believe into the early 1930s when part of the Mill complex became a hostel for the Youth Hostels Association (YHA) and was used as such even during the Second World War.

"I can remember the mill complex being demolished in the 1950s."

A spokesperson for the council said: “A large section of the weir has collapsed, and we have closed the footbridge and the area surrounding the weir, with signage in place to stop access.

"Essex Highways and the Environment Agency have been notified.

"We contacted the Environment Agency earlier this week due to a significant drop in water levels, who advised that there was no risk to wildlife or of flooding caused by potential damage to this structure. We are now working with them to understand any further impacts following the collapse.

"We will continue to closely monitor the situation and take appropriate action to ensure the safety of visitors to the area, as well as taking any action we can on advice of the Environment Agency to mitigate risk of flooding or to wildlife.”