Part of the footbridge between Healey Wood Road and Cooper Street, near AMF Bowling, crumbled as Hannah Cuttriss (17) touched it with her foot, revealing an 8ft. foot drop below. She and her boyfriend, Christian Bell (16), jumped over the new hole, which then completely fell through where they had been standing.

The couple, and fellow students at Nelson and Colne College, were crossing the bridge at 1-30 p.m. on Saturday, heading towards the town centre.

Hannah, daughter of Martin and Wendy Cuttriss, of Far East View, said: "I jumped over the hole with my boyfriend then seconds later the whole area fell through. We were lucky to come away from that unhurt and if we would have stayed on that bit any longer we would have fallen down there.

"We were just in shock afterwards and walked away because if I hadn't touched the ground first I would have fallen in and the concrete would then have fallen on top of me. It was really scary."



Police have placed no entry tape across the footbridge and Burnley Council workmen have blocked off the entire bridge, which sits underneath Centenary Way and is a major route into the town centre from Healey Wood.

A Lancashire County Council spokesman said: "In bridge terms the structure at Healey Wood is, at around 24 years of age, relatively new and is in good condition. However the stone steps leading up to it are far older, constructed circa 1877 or before, and we do not have records of their original construction.

"We were made aware of a problem with the steps on Saturday and the bridge has been off-limits since for safety reasons. An engineer has been out and carried out a preliminary investigation into the landing collapse.

"Once we have been able to check the whole of the structure we will draw up a scheme to repair the steps and ensure public safety. We are not able to put a timescale on the repairs until we know exactly what is needed, but the steps will remain closed for safety reasons until repairs have been carried out."