TILFORD East Bridge is expected to close for “up to six months” at the end of this month to enable repair works to begin.

But, the closure of the bridge means that Tilford village will be once again cut in half - with paddling in the River Wey also to be restricted this summer.

Repair works are needed on this iconic stone bridge after a silver Honda CR-V 4x4 skidded through its barriers and narrowly avoided landing in the River Wey in January 2017.

The car smashed through the wooden barriers and landed on a small piece of land which is enjoyed by hundreds of children during summer months. This resulted in the closure of the bridge and upon further investigation it became clear that other repair works are needed.

The refurbishment project will include improving the durability of the structure’s parapet, replacing the hidden oak beams with steel beams and repairing the stonework.

A Temporary Prohibition of Traffic Order states that the works are “anticipated to be carried out as soon as possible”, and Surrey County Council (SCC) predicts that the works will take around four to six months to complete, but has not confirmed a start date.

Closure of the river during the busiest time of the year has caused major concerns amongst local businesses. The most heavily impacted is said to be Tilford Village Shop as, according to the shop’s manager Krish Semthivel, it “mainly relies on the passing trade”.

Krish said: “If there’s no passing trade then we don’t make anything. It’s going to be a real disaster but we heard the village is going to do something, the villagers are teaming up to save the shop but again I don’t know how far they can do it because it’s a long period of time. It’s going to be a tough situation I think.”

Another business which will be affected is The Barley Mow pub.

Debbie Glover, pub manager, said: “It does need fixing and we all agree it needs fixing but we all think there may be a better way of doing it.

“There are sites that you can go onto but they keep on putting off the consultation meeting, it was supposed to be March then it was April and now it’s not until May, therefore they are either going to be very late in starting or they’re going to start before the consultation which is not good.”

The council confirmed that there will be a temporary footbridge allowing pedestrians and dismounted cyclists to cross the river, but the river itself will be closed for safety reasons.

David Harmer, county councillor for Waverley Western Villages, said: “It’s not an option [not to undertake the repairs], we’d be forced to close the bridge altogether as the alternative. At least this way you get it back again afterwards.

“I do think they’ve put quite a lot of effort into trying to work out how they can best do it without causing more chaos than they have to, but it’s obviously going to cause huge chaos.”

A SCC spokesperson added: “The bridge needs to be closed so we can carry out vital maintenance work, however this can’t begin until the river level drops in the summer but we’re keeping residents and businesses up to date with our plans and will install a temporary footbridge ahead of work starting.”