WE’VE all had the experience. You make a major purchase, it gives you trouble, and before you know it, the guarantee has run out.

In the case of Poole’s Twin Sails bridge, the contractor Hochtief will still be responsible for ongoing problems – but new maintenance will have to be done by the council.

Few people would pay much attention to this if the bridge’s teething problems were over. But instead, the Twin Sails marked its first anniversary by breaking down again.

Yesterday’s breakdown was especially troubling because there seemed to be a delay in getting anyone to the scene who had any idea what to do.

Poole council points out that only two per cent of the bridge’s lifts have been affected so far. But that means you can expect it to go wrong one in every 50 times it’s operated.

You wouldn’t accept that standard of reliability from a car. So why accept it with a major piece of engineering?