SHUT-DOWN FOLLOWS FEARS OVER LOOSE CONCRETE

A POPULAR skate park beneath the condemned Gateshead flyover has been shut down with immediate effect due to fears about loose concrete.

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Gateshead Council confirmed yesterday that an urgent closure had been ordered for the Five Bridges skate park, which is directly beneath the closed A167 Gateshead Highway flyover.

The flyover itself has been off limits since last December, when it was closed suddenly amid worries that it could collapse due to crumbling concrete.

It is now due to be demolished, though no firm date has been given for when work to tear it down will begin.

However, local authority bosses have announced that a recent survey of the flyover found “significant areas of concrete were loose directly above the skate park,” potentially posing a major threat to anyone using it.