"SAVE our bridge" was the message from parish councillors amid fears that reckless drivers are chipping away at a 16th-century crossing between two villages.
Buttsbury Bridge in Stock Lane has straddled the River Wid between Ingatestone and Stock since the Spanish Armada sailed for England.
Yet with the Grade II listed bridge being hit at least six times in the past five years at a cost to taxpayers of £76,000, Ingatestone and Fryerning Parish Council has united with its Stock counterpart to call for a "convincing solution".
Vice-chairman of Ingatestone and Fryerning Parish Council David Abrey was among a contingent who met Essex County Council Highways Department, which is responsible for the road, at the end of April.
He said to lose the bridge would be "criminal", adding that it was "historic and beautiful".
"It's been struck on numerous occasions and after the last incident a fairly major repair was done, causing a month of delays," he said.
"We've got to be talking about considerable costs. You can't just use any old material, you need to be sympathetic to the original bridge – it's a tricky job.
"At the moment there's no speed limit at that particular part of the road and the speed that they do can cause problems.
"We've suggested they put bollards further back so they are properly lined up before they go over the bridge."
Traffic-calming measures cannot be installed until a lower speed limit is enforced on what is currently a 60mph stretch.
Road markings have been widened and a fence on the approach to one side of the bridge has been painted white in an effort to protect the crossing, which is believed to have been built by an ancestor of Lord Petre.
Stock Parish Council chairman Nick Fairman, who uses the road daily, told the Gazette that more needs to be done.
"It's a key link between Stock and Ingatestone," he said. "The whole issue has been very frustrating.
"It's an important road and it's costing a lot of money to keep maintaining it but they are limited by what they can do at the moment.
"Everybody feels there needs to be a long-term solution in place.
"It was only repaired recently and yet you can see it's been hit once again.
"If the speed limit can be reduced to 40mph or less then Essex Highways can introduce more traffic-calming measures, which should hopefully reduce the likelihood of the bridge being hit."
Essex County Council said that some of the costs of repairing the bridge can be recouped when perpetrators are identified.
A spokesman said: "Traffic flows over the bridge have recently been monitored including speed, volume and type of vehicle.
"A number of changes have now been agreed to improve safety on the bridge, including new white lining to improve the alignment of vehicles through the bridge and additional 'reduce speed now' signs.
"The approach fencing will also be painted white to further highlight the approach to the bridge."
