TERROR AT CITY S HAUNTED BRIDGE
SPOOKED Amanda West froze with terror after hearing ghostly gallopings over the River Calder while out for an evening stroll with her dog.
Bess the Bedlington Terrier went into a barking frenzy as the mysterious sound of horses hooves could be heard as the pair crossed the river at Denby Dale Road.
Amanda said: It was a very frightening feeling as the sounds just came out of nowhere and there was no sign ofhorses.
Then, all of a sudden, I heard a massive splash. I leaned over the railings and looked down at the water but it was completely calm. It was then when I heard the braying of the horses coming from under the bridge. It lasted for about 30 seconds before everything went silent I was terrified.
Amanda decided to keep quiet and told only a few friends about the incident, which took place in August, thinking people would poke fun at her story.
But when her friend told her about a discovery she had made in a history book, she thought there could be something more to the eerie episode.
Amanda, who lives in Leeds, said: My friend Maureen rang me and said she had read a book about Thornes Park.
It said that a suspension bridge crossing the Calder at Denby Dale Road had collapsed as a barley wagon was being pulled across it back in 1836 and three horses had drowned.
The story comes from an illustrated book on Thornes Park by Wakefield wildlife artist and naturalist Richard Bell.
It mentions the problems experienced by the trustees of the Wakefield and Denby Dale Turnpike Road during the 19th century.
An Act of Parliament was made in 1825 to build a chain of new roads to link Wakefield and Barnsley with Manchester. The trustees experienced difficulties in raising the money needed however, leading the first clerk of the project to be dismissed in 1839.
The collapse of the bridge was probably due to its poor condition as a result of a lack of funds.
Amanda said: I was always very open-minded as to whether there was such a thing as ghosts. I always said you had to see it to believe it. I am still not totally convinced. But, after such a weird experience, I can see why so many people think ghosts exist.
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Weather for Wakefield
Friday 25 May 2012
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Temperature: 10 C to 23 C
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