Battle to protect Tyne Bridge’s endangered residents for 100 year celebration

It’s a much loved fusion of north-east steel, engineering, pride and beauty, it is the symbol of the Geordie nation. It is of course the Tyne Bridge. It is soon to be a hundred years old but showing its age. So a massive repainting job is about to begin.

But there is one major challenge. It’s not just people who love that bridge. We’ve been given exclusive access to see just how Newcastle City Council is planning to protect the world’s most inland colony of endangered kittiwakes on the girders of the bridge itself, when the repainting teams move in.