A SPACE-age bridge set to be flown in to place by a Chinook helicopter has come under fire -- for looking like something from Star Wars.

The £500,000 structure will to span the Ribble-Calder confluence near Little Mitton, in the Ribble Valley.

Since the Ribble Way was first opened in 1985, groups like the Ramblers' Association have called for a bridge to make that part of the route more accessible.

The site is at the former Hacking Ferry site which closed in the 1950, making the nearest crossing more than one-and-a-half miles away at Lower Hodder Bridge.

It links the five adjoining parishes of Aighton, Bailey, Little Mitton, Chaigley and Billington, close to Hacking Hall. Its would link existing public rights of way and a network of footpaths.

The tripod shaped structure, designed by London-based architects Flint and Neill will be paid for mostly by grant-aid with a contribution from county council and has been welcomed by the majority of Ribble Valley councillors.

It incorporates stainless steel, glass reinforced plastic and concrete, and will be around 100 metres long and suitably high enough so flood debris does not cause any damage to its structure.

Frank Parrott, footpath secretary for the Ramblers Association North-East Lancashire area, welcomed the design.

He said: "We have been pressing for a bridge since the Ribble Way opened. I think it is an impressive and sensitive design though such designs will always generate a mixture of admiration and outrage."

The initial suggestion for its colour is silver-grey though this would be determined at the county council's development control sub-committee's planning meeting in April or May.

"When permission has been granted, work could be finished by summer, though it would be timed to prevent disturbance to nesting sand martins and spawning fish," said a spokesman for the county.

But Ribble Valley councillor Harry Backhouse said the bridge was inappropriate and looked more suitable for a Star Wars film set than in the countryside.

But Coun Frank Dyson told Ribble Valley Council planning committee the design was "a very elegant solution."