PEOPLE have been warned to stay away from the banks of the River Clyde after they started to collapse following a tidal weir failure which caused water levels to drop dramatically.

Roads and pathways on the southern bank have started to crack as water levels plummeted to their lowest level since the Second World War.

A major crack appeared on the pathway on Adelphi Street beside the Clyde, causing it to collapse.

Police were in attendance at the scene as fears of further cracks appearing continued.

The tidal weir is one of three used to ensure the upper Clyde, east of the Albert Bridge, is kept at a constant depth.

Without it, water levels can rise and fall with a tide from a depth of more than four metre to only 1.5m.

Members of the public are being warned to stay away from the riverbank around Glasgow Green and nearby public walkways have been closed.

Glasgow City Council confirmed that they were continuing attempts to get the gates working again last night.

George Parsonage, chief officer of the Glasgow Humane Society, who is among those monitoring the situation, said he also spotted a burst water main on Adelphie Street and cracks in the river wall at Waterside Street.

He added: “Engineers are trying various different methods to try get the gate working, from using jacks to wedge it while a pulling with a crane.

“If they can’t fix it, they might have to bring in a cofferdam, which is built in the water to allow water to be pumped out.

“It’s not going to be easy - they will need to bring in a large crane and a large barge to do it.

“There’s already cracks in our boat shed and if this continues, it’ll be a fortune for the council to cover all the costs.

“We’re now just waiting and hoping that they can find something to fix it.

“It’s a very dangerous situation right now.”

A spokeswoman for Glasgow City Council, said: “Outward pressure of the water on the banks of the river has also reduced and there is a risk they could become unstable.

“There is currently some damage on the southern bank and we have closed a section of the walkway from Glasgow Green to Dalmarnock Road on that side.

“We are also asking the public to stay away from both banks above the weir."

She said they were working with specialist contractors on potential solutions, "including the construction of a cofferdam or barrier."

She added: “The main risk posed from the failure of the weir is to the stability of the banks of the river, upstream, around low tide. Although there has been no catastrophic failure, there has been damage to the banks, walkways, and some of the infrastructure buried underneath.

“We are working with the emergency services and public utilities to minimise the impact of any damage on local residents and businesses.”

A spokesperson from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) added: “SEPA is supporting Glasgow City Council’s management of the tidal weir issue near Glasgow Green by providing tidal and river flow information and advice.

“We can confirm that no flooding impacts are currently forecast or anticipated as a result of this issue, however we will continue to monitor the situation.

“We would also encourage the public to follow any advice provided by Glasgow City Council.”

Canoeists and rowing clubs have also been warned off the water which is popular with the Glasgow University Boat Club and Strathclyde University Boat Club.

Glasgow Rowing Club was among those unable to carrying our their training on Wednesday afternoon.

A spokesman for the club said: “We were meant to be going out on the water.

“Wednesday’s are exciting days at the club with more competitive rowing taking place.

“I’ve yet to see the damage, we have older members who are engineers and they are having a look at it but we’re hoping the damage isn’t too bad.”