Due to the necessity of re-routing Heavy Goods Vehicles and other freight transport, the Forth Road Bridge is costing thousands of pounds every week it remains closed.

This has been reported by members of the Freight Transport Association (FTA), which says that fleets are now working at excessive expense as a result of the cracked steelwork on the bridge.

One FTA member said that their costs of operation had escalated by "£11,000 per week - this is massive for us".

This member continued on to say the the costs included "compensation for extra mileage for self-employed drivers and employing staff to cover left over stops from existing drivers who have less time to deliver".

Director of policy for the FTA Karen Dee said that the closure was an issue for Scotland and the rest of the UK as the "Forth Road Bridge is vital to our national roads infrastructure and using alternatives is adding time and cost to our members who are on very tight margins".

Christmas is the busiest time for FTA members and the knock-on effect on problems with the supply chains of their late deliveries will be added expenses for customers if the problem isn't remedied quickly.