MOSES Gate bridge has reopened after months of repairs – but some residents aren’t happy that pedestrian guardrails on a route used by school children have disappeared.

The bridge, which carries traffic from Bolton Road and Egerton Street over the rail line, has been closed since it was damaged by a burst water main in mid-August.

Former pub landlord Jim Clarke, who lives in the area, says that it’s ‘absolutely ridiculous’ that the council are not replacing the pedestrian guardrails.

He said: “We want this putting back exactly as they found it.”

The pedestrian crossing on Moses Gate leading to Hall Lane is used by pupils at All Saints Primary School.

Bolton Council say that the railings at the crossing will not be reinstalled because it’s not ‘standard practice’ to use them anymore.

But Jim, who lives on Hall Lane, believes that not putting the railings back will put the children in danger.

According to Jim, there used to be a school crossing patrol officer, but there has not been a lollipop man or lady at the spot for some years now.

He said: “This is a major problem.”

The 64-year-old has been working as a gardener for the last decade and watched the complex repairs to the bridge take ten months to complete.

He was also concerned that three benches removed from a green space opposite the crossing would not be returned.

The benches were temporarily removed by Network Rail while they were undertaking the bridge repair works and used it as a storage area.

Jim claims that the space is being illegally occupied by people who park their cars on it, with up to seven cars parked on the public space at a time.

The council said that the benches and grassed area will be reinstated to how they were previously.

Network Rail confirmed that the benches will be replaced by the contractor, but do not yet know when this will be, and the grassed area was re-seeded earlier this week.

Jim, who used to run the Railway Inn nearby, is now forming a ‘Friends of Moses Gate’ group to campaign together on local issues such as this one.

He said: “We’ve just started. I’ve enquired around the Moses Gate area. Everybody wants to get involved.”

Ultimately, Jim says he’s a bit ‘downhearted’ with Bolton Council and wants Farnworth and Kearsley back in the hands of its residents.