A dad has called for major repairs to a bridge over the Silk Road saying his toddler could have fallen through a broken railing.

Conrad Rubin, 46, says his 18-month-old son Charlie was holding on to a wooden balustrade on the bridge when it broke.

The terrified dad grabbed his son to prevent him falling through.

The bridge goes over the main Silk Road and connects the Middlewood Way between Bollington and Tytherington, a route used by children to get to school.

Council bosses say that temporary repair work is being carried out on the bridge and that a more detailed examination will take place in the summer.

Conrad, who is a cabinet maker, says he immediately reported what happened to the council after inspecting the bridge further and believing that some of the wooden balustrades are rotting.

Council officers have now placed new wooden beading at the top and bottom of the balustrades to try to fix the problem but Conrad warns this does not solve it.

Conrad, who lives in Bollington and runs the Bed and Mattress Shop in Macclesfield, said: “I was terrified when Charlie nearly fell through and it’s so lucky I grabbed him in time.

“We were up there waving at the cars and the balustrade he was holding came away because it was rotten at the bottom.

“What the council has done is not going to fix the problem. The new wood is attached to the rotten wood so the balustrades can still snap off.

“It’s a route that schoolchildren use and this is only going to get worse once the school buses are cut and more children are walking across to Tytherington. The bridge has been there 30 years and the lifespan of wood is only about 25. I don’t want people going up there.”

A Cheshire East Council spokesman said: “Temporary repair work is being carried out on this footbridge to replace some of the timber construction. This involves additional timber and galvanised steel mesh.

“The requirement for this work was identified in the last financial year 2016-17 following inspection.

“A more detailed examination of the structure will take place in the summer and there is funding in place for further work.”

Conrad Rubin was on the bridge over the Silk Road and says his toddler Charlie nearly fell through the wooden railings because they are corroding bridge over the Silk Road, Tytherington / Bollington , Macclesfield 22 May 2017 Pic Dominic Salter