THE damaged glass panel on Blackburn’s new bus station was finally replaced last night after a new custom-made replacement was flown in from Germany.

The five-metre by 1.5-metre original was damaged by a paving sub-contractor’s hammer before the much-delayed £4.7million structure was handed over to the borough council in April.

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Although it shattered into small pieces creating a frosted effect, the panel remained intact and safe while the new one was specially created.

The panels, made to very precise measurements, have to be individually crafted and cost several hundreds pounds each.

On Tuesday, exterior roof panels were removed and the immediate area in Ainsworth Street outside The Mall cordoned off before the replacement work by main contractors Eric Wright Construction began last night.

Blackburn with Darwen Council regeneration boss Cllr Phil Riley said the panel, one of 134 on the bus station, had remained entirely safe because of its construction.

He said that the nature of the impact of the hammer, being slid across paving stones, on the bottom edge of the glass panel caused the shattering which was unlikely to be repeated.

Cllr Riley said: “The damage to the panel happened before the bus station was handed over to the council back in April.

“The panel was damaged by a subcontractor during the final construction phase.

“This is being replaced by Eric Wright Construction.

“The exterior roof panels have been removed to enable the glass’ safe removal and refitting.

“The cost to the council to repair is nothing as its being done under warranty by Eric Wright and Glassolutions, although the panels are very expensive to make and have to be specially manufactured.

“The damaged panel was entirely safe owing to its special reinforcing and looked like a frosted glass feature.

“It was the nature of the impact at the bottom of the glass which caused the damage which is unlikely to repeated on the other panels.”

John Wilson, managing director at Eric Wright Construction, said: “We are replacing a glass panel at Blackburn Bus Station starting on Wednesday evening.

“It was unfortunately damaged when the panel was caught by some paving works being installed by one of our subcontractors.

“The panel was completely safe due to its design despite the damage and has remained in place until the new panel arrived from the supplier in Germany and could be installed.”

The bus station, a key part of the £40million public transport scheme, opened in May after delays and the termination of the original contract Thomas Barnes Group in June 2015.

It was scheduled to open in December 2014.