Ivory picked for swan-friendly bridge

1:42pm Tuesday 13th May 2008

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The new Walton bridge is to be ivory-coloured to stop swans crashing in to it.

Along with the swan-friendly colour, the bridge's arches have been designed to cast a stronger shadow the birds can spot in flight.

Its support rods will also be fitted with temporary, brightly-coloured discs while the birds get used to the new structure.

Surrey councilor David Munro said swans had clipped the existing bridge, hitting lamp columns because they failed to see them.

The council asked staff from the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust to help decide the most obvious colour for the bridge.

The colours were computer-modelled against different types of sky from bright blue to stormy before ivory was chosen.

The new bridge is expected to be finished by 2014 after Environment Secretary Hilary Benn approved the design in January.