After scouring the internet, the society's procuring officer Dave Chambers discovered the lattice steel treasure and decided to rescue the Nottingham footbridge days before it was due to be demolished.

The ex-Midland Railway bridge, which stood at the site of the former Basford station in Nottingham, was standing in the way of Nottingham's planned Express Transit system and therefore had to be removed.

It now stands in the car park of the society's museum at the former Rushden station.

Mr Chambers said: "It took us a day to remove the bridge and transport it back to Rushden. We used a 100-tonne crane to lift the bridge and then we had a crane fixed on our lorry so that we could easily remove it when we arrived at Rushden."

Mr Chambers said that the society purchased the bridge for the price of scrap metal and will use it to replace a similiar one.

He said: "A bridge of similar design was removed from the station about 20 years ago and we were on the lookout for a similar bridge so we could restore some of the authenticity of the station. We are pleased to have found the bridge and feel that it is an important acquisition for the Rushden society. It is important to preserve such items."