A HISTORIC Victorian railway footbridge, which was saved from demolition, has been resurrected in Purbeck.

Volunteers from Swanage Railway Trust have spent more than five years restoring the cast iron footbridge, which has been erected at Corfe Castle railway station.

General manager of Swanage Railway, Nick Brown, said: "Corfe Castle station never had a bridge between 1885 when the line opened and 1972 when it closed.

"Between those years passengers used an ungated timber foot crossing. The new footbridge fits in so well you would think it was an original feature of the station, which is dominated by the castle ruins.

"The new footbridge has come from the Croydon Tramlink and was built in 1893. It is important because people will be able to cross the tracks between the platforms whenever they like, instead of using a gated crossing, which has to be locked before trains approach for safety reasons."

The civil engineer who led the team responsible for the footbridge project, Philip Wycliffe-Jones, said: "The advent of Croydon Tramlink spelt the end for the charming bridge, until we stepped in and acquired it for use at the south end of Corfe Castle's two five-carriage long platforms.

"It was a challenging job planning and executing the dismantling of the bridge in London and then transporting it down to Dorset before we could start work on restoring and adapting it for use on the relaid Purbeck Line."