The New Victoria Bridge was opened in 1887. Made of stone and iron, Victoria Bridge had three rather than 5 arches. Permission was granted from Queen Victoria to use her name! An old steam tram passes over the bridge with the Clevo Flour Mills in the background 
Picture Stockton Archive
A Pictorial History of Stockton-on-Tees
Picture Stockton Archive 
I remember the Gazette published a large photo of the vehicle being lifted from the Tees.
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For All who shared their memories, thanks for your memories:- (1) David yes I belive it was a Sadler”s tanker. (2) Bob remember hearing about the traffic but luckily didn”t get caught in it. I was at Wilton at the time, but lived in Norton & usually used Newport bridge. It must have been cleared by the time I came home. On reflection I may have been on shifts on a trans – atlantic cable contract. (3)Fred I do remember the fact that the driver”d had a hitchhiker in the cab – hadn”t remembered the fatalities. (4) Alan as you say no flyover then BUT proper bicycle lanes for ICI workers right down to Billingham Bottoms roundabout.
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My uncle was one of the first on the scene, he and others that had stopped to help made an attempt to go into the water to reach the vehicle. The tanker driver and a hitch-hiker he had picked up minutes before died in the incident.
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Recolletions I was working at I.C.I Billingham, when this tanker went into the river a team of specialist from the works went to the site as the cargo was beleived to be Phenol, highly corrosive In the works we were told that getting home after 4-30 would be “dicey”. How true, by this time traffic was stacked back in Middlesborough as far as North Ormesby, Stockton, Durham Road as far as Thorpe, Greatham on the Hartlepool Road and Kirklevington in the Yarm area. There was at that time only three crossings Transporter, Newport and Yarm Bridges, only escorted pedestrians, cyclist and motor bikes (pushed) were allowed to cross, once the emergcency services were in place.
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I remember the tanker incident very well. I was working at the Malleable works at the time on Portrack Road. I think the owners of the tanker was Sadlers Transport.
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I REMEMBER THE ACCIDENT WHEN THE TANKER CRASHED INTO THE TEES FROM THE NEWPORT BRIDGE.IT WOULD BE ABOUT 1964. I WAS WORKING AT THE EVENING GAZETTE IN BRIDGE ROAD STOCKTON.THE WHOLE OF STOCKTON WAS AT STANDSTILL,NO A66 OR A19 FLYOVERS THEN.ALL OUR SUPPLIES OF NEWSPAPERS WERE DELAYED.I REMEMBER LOOKING AT THE PAPERS THE FOLLOWING DAY AND WONDERING HOW A LARGE ROAD TANKER COULD HAVE GONE OVER SIDE OF THE BRIDGE. I BELIEVE A PHOTOGRAPH OF THE TANKER APPEARED IN THE REMEMBER WHEN A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO.
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That Accident caused one of the longest traffic hold-ups on Teesside, with traffic as far back as Thorpe, Greatham Kirklevington. only cyclist and pushed motor-bikes were allowed to cross Victoria Bridge and Stockton High Street came to a stand-still for hours , even Yarm traffic the only bridge left was halted as drivers tried to get home
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David Mills – David either that or dissolve. Do you remember the time an accident happened to a tanker crossing the Tees via Newport Bridge? It occurred on the Yorkshire side, on a very icy day. A tractor / trailer tanker flipped sideways and ended up in the river. Consider the girder work which constituted the non movable section on the Middlesbrough side. It was said, at the time, if the driver had been attempting to perform the feat voluntarily he wouldn”t have managed it. The wing mirrors passed between the steelwork with less than 1/2inch clearence on either side.
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That brings back memories, that awful smell of the Tees. Rats, derelict buildings, and the pollution. It was said that if you fell in the Tees back then you would be poisioned rather than drowned!!!
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One thing that has become better in Stockton is the state of the Tees. Remember the remains of the staithes, in the river, just of the quayside between Castle Street & Finkle Street. The awful smell of the river mud at low tide on hot days. The grimy bricks of the riverside buildings, particularly in the narrow section. I haven”t seen the Tees since the opening of the barrage, but one of my indigenous mates reckons it is brilliantly clean.
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