MAGDALEN Bridge in Oxford will be closed and protected by police and security staff until 2010 in a bid to prevent May Morning revellers jumping into the River Cherwell.

The 25ft-high bridge was closed between 3am and 9am this year to prevent students indulging in the tradition of jumping into the water below the first closure since 2001.

Now authorities, including representatives from the police, ambulance service and city council, have decided to close the bridge for a further three years after this year's operation proved such a success.

Only five jumpers defied the bridge ban and jumped.

Chief Inspector Steph Cook, of Oxford police, said: "Our main aim has always been to ensure the safety of the public.

"We are pleased no one was injured this year and will continue our efforts with our partner agencies to ensure the event is enjoyed safely."

This year's unprecedented security operation, which saw 40 uniformed police officers and 30 bouncers line each end of the bridge, was in response to problems that ensued in 2005 when 40 students were hurt some seriously jumping into the shallow water.

Police vowed to use "whatever means necessary" to prevent anyone breaking the security cordon, even though the tradition is not a criminal offence.

However, the five individuals that jumped did so after the bridge reopened.

Magdalen College home bursar Mark Blandford-Baker said: "From the college's point of view we were happy with how things went.

"The choir and the gathering on the bridge is a centuries old tradition, people jumping off the bridge is not. This is a very recent phenomenon."

Some 12,500 revellers turned up to hear Magdalen College Choir performing the Hymnus Eucharisticus from the top of the college tower on May Morning in 2005.

The bridge was closed on May Morning between 1998 and 2001, but last year a Sunday 8,500 people stood on the bridge and 12 jumpers were taken to hospital with a variety of injuries including broken legs, ankles and ribs.

The River Cherwell can be shallow in spring and is scattered with debris like rocks, broken glass and supermarket trolleys.

Paramedics also expressed concern that people who jumped could catch the potentially fatal Weil's Disease, an infection carried by rats, particularly if those people who jumped had open wounds.

However, some, like councillors from Oxford's Green group, which represent large parts of East Oxford, thought the decision to close the bridge entirely was heavy-handed and prevented a large number of people living nearby listening to the event.