A MAN accused of threatening contractors working on Jubilee Bridge is due to appear in court next month.

Kevin Brookes, 56, of Trent Vale, Walney, was charged by police today (Wednesday) under the Public Order Act.

He has been charged with using threatening/abusive/insulting words or behaviour with intent to cause fear or provoke unlawful violence following an alleged incident just before midnight on August 30. He will appear at South Cumbria Magistrates Court in Barrow on October 3.

And motorists have been urged to curb their speed on the bridge amid fears over the safety of workers. The Mail reported this week that 12 people had been caught breaking the 20mph limit over the bridge on just one morning before 9am.

Cumbria County Council and Story Contracting issued the plea to slow down.

David Haughian, the council’s project manager for the Jubilee Bridge works, said: “The speed limit is to ensure the safety of workers. Drivers might not think it’s much different doing 30mph but that extra speed could be fatal. People working on the bridge have to be able to do so safely, if they can’t then that holds up work and causes delays. We understand that motorists can get frustrated but that extra 10mph will make no difference to their journey time, but makes a huge difference to safety."

Robin Hicks, site manager for Story Contracting, said: “Our team is working hard to complete the maintenance and repair works while causing as little disruption as possible. Unfortunately, due to some motorists speeding over the bridge we have had to put additional traffic management measures in place on our twilight shifts to ensure the safety of our workforce resulting in increased wait times at the temporary traffic lights."