PLANS TO close the Forth Road Bridge have been postponed until July.

Forth Estuary Transport Authority is spending £65 million over the next 15 years on repainting the bridge.

Before the work can be carried out, a canopy must be installed to prevent debris falling onto bridge users.

The bridge was set to be shut completely for three hours after half past midnight today to allow the work to go ahead.

However bad weather and other operational delays forced FETA to put off carrying out the work.

Bridge closures on May 31 and June 2 have also been postponed.

As yet FETA have not confirmed when the bridge will be closed to allow the canopy to be put up, however it is likely to happen in July.

The bridge operators said the closures would be scheduled to avoid big summer events such as the Open Golf Championship at St Andrews, T In The Park and the G8 Summit.