THIS week marks the 60th anniversary of the Severn Rail Bridge disaster.
It happened under dense fog on the night of October 25, 1960 at the bridge at Sharpness.
Two tanker barges, one carrying heating oil and the other a cargo of petrol, collided with each other and then crashed into the railway bridge posts. Two spans of the bridge dropped onto the barges which subsequently caused the cargo of petrol to ignite, setting the River Severn ablaze.
Five men died in the tragedy.
Former Gazette photographer David Ireland, who lives in Cam, rushed to the scene at first light to take photographs of the aftermath of the disaster.
He was ferried out to the mangled bridge in a small rowing boat, the tide was low at this point, and he captured these dramatic images.
For two years there were plans to rebuild the bridge and school children from Sharpness and Berkeley continued to attend Lydney grammar school, travelling by train via Gloucester to get there.
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