Mike Hall, from Haverhill, played a crucial role in rescuing and relocating 40,000 love locks from a Bakewell bridge.
Mike Hall helped save them. The locks were on Weir Bridge over the River Wye in Bakewell, which is in the Peak District.
Locks started appearing in 2012. Mike and his wife, Carol, added one in 2014. It was small, like a stamp and said Mica 2014.
Mike and Carol went to the bridge in 2019 but couldn’t find their lock. Sadly, it was their last time there together.
Carol passed away in 2020 at age 63 from bile duct cancer, a rare cancer that caused sepsis. Her family created MICA Travels in her memory to support cancer and sepsis charities.
In 2021, Mike found their lock again and wrote about it on Facebook in the group “Save the Love Locks,” started by a business owner.
The council planned to remove the locks to fix the bridge. The locks would be melted down afterward, and the bridge design changed to stop new locks.
Mike got involved in 2021, doing interviews on TV and radio. He wanted to save the locks’ messages and wanted the council to fix the bridge.
The locks were going to the group after removal, and the group needed a place to store them. Mike closed the bridge before removal, a piper played Amazing Grace.
Workers removed around 150 bags of locks, each weighing 35 to 70 kgs. It took days to remove and bag them.
Emma Harrison, who owns Thornbridge Hall, offered a home for the locks. Thornbridge Hall is a tourist spot nearby, and people can visit the locks for free.
Some locks fell into the river during removal. Mike used a magnet to fish them out, rescuing 400 locks from the river and shops.
They recorded all locks and posted them online, hoping to find the owners.
Mike was on the BBC’s The One Show, talking about the launch of the Thornbridge Love Locker. It’s been called the biggest love lock rescue.
The locks are now safe at their new home. Mike said the last ten years were hard where he lost his wife but loved seeing the locks. The bridge held special memories for him.
He plans to add a new lock to Thornbridge, it will honor those they have loved and lost. The locks came from all over the world.
Mike wants people to know they are safe and have just moved to a new place.