HISTORIC Walmgate Bar in York will remain closed to traffic for at least a week because of damage caused by a lorry that became wedged on Friday.

Firefighters and police finally pulled the vehicle free at 1.30pm - two hours after it first became stuck.

Peter Evely, head of network management at City of York Council, said: "There's no danger the archway is going to fall down. But there's loose stonework, so we've closed it for safety reasons.

"There's a one-in-a-thousand chance a stone would fall down while someone was driving through, so it had to close."

Cars and buses, including Park & Ride traffic, will be diverted around the Bar.

Updated: 09:19 Saturday, November 08, 2003