THE Twin Sails Bridge at Poole blew a fuse on Wednesday afternoon, at the start of the scheduled 4.30pm lift, leaving mariners unable to pass between Holes Bay and the quay.

“This was caused by a damaged control cable,” said John Rice, engineering and maintenance manager, Borough of Poole.

“As a result the bridge lift could not be undertaken as not all of the pedestrian and traffic barriers were operational. The damaged cable and fuse were replaced and the next scheduled lift, at 6.30pm, operated normally.”

He said road traffic was not affected by the problem, which is the first to hit the bridge for some months.

“We would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused to mariners who had their journeys disrupted,” said Mr Rice.