Employees who worked for a Burton business in the 1960s are being urged to come forward as part of a fresh appeal to find the Ferry Bridge's four missing tower plinths.

For the first time, the Friends of the Ferry Bridge have named steel fabrication firm Conder as the site which was used to store four 5ft cast iron towers which held the impressive lion structures in place after they were removed from the Ferry Bridge in 1969 to enable its revamp.

Evidence of rust which may have indicated where the missing plinths were once stored

However, they were never returned to the bridge and have remained missing for 48 years. At least two lions are on display at the National Brewery Centre, while another two may be in storage.

The recent reopening of the Ferry Bridge following its £1.3 million revamp last year led to a renewed interest in locating the plinths and members of the Friends of the Ferry Bridge, who were instrumental in securing the funding for the revamp from Staffordshire County Council, began their search.

The bridge's walkway has also been replaced, after representing a danger to pedestrians and cyclists
The revamped Ferry Bridge

It was previously revealed in the Burton Mail that a mystery site in Burton had stored the plinths until at least the 1980s.

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That site has now been named as Conder in a bid to appeal for former employees to come forward.

It had previously not been named for fear of trespassers but the site was recently cleared for redevelopment, which also enabled a large-scale excavation. While traces of rusted iron was found, the plinths were not recovered.

One of the members of the Friends of the Ferry Bridge, Kim MacBeth said: "The old Conder site has been cleared and there is apparently no sign of them.

"It originally took four men to move each plinth as they were so heavy and stood about 5ft tall."

This photo by Robin Jeffcoat taken in 1969 shows the partial removal of the towers

The Friends are now appealing for former employees at Conder to come forward and share any memories they have of the plinths when they arrived on the site in 1969 until their apparent removal in the 1980s.

Mrs McBeth previously said that the plinths were still in situ on the site in question in the 1980s; after that no-one is sure what happened to them.

On a look around the site last summer members found evidence of rusting cast iron under the surface of the ground, among a pile of cleared fence posts and tree debris.

Anyone who can help locate the towers can contact the Friends of the Ferry Bridge on Facebook.