Hammersmith Bridge in west London is to stay partly closed for most of this week for emergency repairs due to a loose bolt.

The problem first came to light last Friday when it was found traffic vibrations had shaken a hanger fixing nut loose.

Initially temporary traffic lights were put in place to control traffic in both directions, but yesterday afternoon the bridge was closed to southbound traffic at the request of Transport for London.

Hammersmith and Fulham Council says the closure is expected to be in until Friday and will cause “significant delays”, with traffic being diverted via Chiswick.

Councillor Wesley Harcourt, cabinet member for transport, said: “The traffic closure is a safety precaution while we perform an emergency investigation to see if there is any damage to the bridge, however we hope to have the nut back in place and the bridge reopened by Friday.

“Obviously this will cause unwanted delays to traffic in the interim, however we need to put the safety of everyone first on what is a very old bridge that was not built to withstand the huge volumes of traffic we have today.

“We will endeavour to get things back to normal as soon as possible with the minimum disruption to residents.”

The original Hammersmith Bridge was built in 1827 but suffered from over-loading.

It was demolished and rebuilt in 1887.