A FOOTBRIDGE in Worcester has been officially named after one of the city's most generous former businessmen and patrons.

The pedestrian bridge over the Worcester and Birmingham Canal, near Shrub Hill Retail Park, was confirmed as The Peter Underwood Bridge in a naming ceremony.

Richard Underwood, the industrialist and benefactor's eldest son, attended with the Mayor of Worcester, Coun Aubrey Tarbuck, and county council chairman Coun Derek Prodger.

Dozens of other friends and family also came out to acknowledge the tribute to the Underwood family, who built the bridge.

A plaque reads: "So he passed over, and the trumpets sounded on the other side".

Peter Underwood was the former chairman of the Underwood Group of Companies, based in Lowesmoor, and died in 2003.

He also represented the Midlands coal merchants and south Midlands builders' and plumbers' merchants.