VILLAGERS are fighting to save a “well loved” century-old bridge which inspired famous landscape artists.

Essex County Council’s Highways department inspected the Boxted Bridge in 2018, finding major faults requiring urgent works.

The authority plans to demolish and replace the bridge, which has angered Lucinda de Jasay, 64, whose family has lived at Boxted Mill since 1956.

She has started a petition to save the bridge and it has so far attracted more than 400 signatures.

Lucinda said: “The bridge is an important heritage feature of the village and well-loved.

“In the 1930s, the views from Boxted Bridge inspired many paintings by both Sir Alfred Munnings and John Nash.”

She is calling for repairs to be carried out to the bridge, “saving it for the community”.

The protester also called plans to build a larger bridge in its place “overkill”.

She added: “It should not be replaced with a wider, uglier version, which would mean that more heavy goods vehicles use this route through an area of outstanding natural beauty.”

Signatories agreed with Wendy Crane adding: “It’s part of the village. It is a feature and it has history. Why take something away when it has memories and it’s part of somewhere?”

A spokesman for Essex Highways said the new bridge would safely accommodate emergency service and waste vehicles.

He said: “The inspection found corrosion, delamination, bending and cracks in the foundation of this 117-year-old bridge, so action must be taken.

“The bridge cannot safely handle two lanes of modern traffic.

“Large vehicles, including fire service vehicles, cannot manoeuvre safely, as evidenced by frequent collisions with the bridge and with a nearby privately-owned wall.

“Following thorough examination, the favoured solution is to replace the entire bridge with a new structure, which is wider only to the minimum extent necessary for safe vehicle use.”

The petition is at change.org/p/essex-county-council-save-our-bridge.