RESIDENTS of a Tyne Valley village are preparing to face a month of disruption.

The road bridge in Haydon Bridge will be closed from August 5 until September 8, forcing drivers into a two-and-a-half-mile diversion.

Traffic will be diverted around the village on the A69 bypass, although pedestrians will still be able to use the old bridge to cross the river South Tyne.

Northumberland County Council will be replacing the bridge’s expansion joints and resurfacing the carriageway and footway.

The bridge opened in 1970 and was only intended to carry heavy traffic for around a decade.

However, the village’s bypass was not opened until 2009.

The work has been welcomed in the village, although concerns have been raised about the route buses will take through the village.

Haydon Parish Council’s vice-chairman, Coun. Eileen Charlton, said: “The work definitely needs to be done.

“When the bridge was built it was designed to take ten years of heavy traffic, but we waited all those years for the bypass.

“The issue I’ve had from people is they’re worried about the buses.

“At the moment they go straight through the village, so residents want them to come in one end, go right around, go back out and come in the other end. The parish council has been in talks with the bus companies.”

Some residents have also complained that they were not notified about the closure.

Northumberland County Council explained that only households within a certain distance of the bridge were informed.

A spokeswoman for the council said: “While not every single resident in Haydon Bridge has been notified, a letter has been sent to the 485 residents that live within a 300m radius of the bridge informing them about the closure and diversion routes.