The phased reintroduction of heavy goods vehicles (HGV's) to the Forth Road Bridge is to continue, the Scottish Government has revealed.

Opening hours for HGV's are now to be extended from 11pm to 5:30am following a successful trial period yesterday, 15 February.

Structural monitoring installed on the bridge confirmed the extra loads were within acceptable ranges.

Transport Minister Derek Mackay said: "Work to restore the bridge to its full capacity is continuing at pace and this is another step towards that goal.

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"The HGV trial has been running for more than a week now and our careful monitoring shows that we can now allow more vehicles across the bridge.

"It means that more than ninety per cent of traffic has access to the bridge while the strengthening work is carried-out by our expert team. All indications are that we are on track for the full re-opening soon and we will continue to explore options to allow as many HGVs as possible to use the crossing in the meantime."

Amey's Account Director for the Forth Road Bridge, Mark Arndt, added: "The HGV trial has gone better than we expected, with many drivers taking advantage of the overnight relaxation on a daily basis. We hope that more will benefit from the extended hours."

(LM)