A LIMOUSINE dangling over the Newport's George Street Bridge at the weekend drew gasps from people passing by.

Was it a major incident unfolding in the city?

Well, it was certainly a drama.

But this was not reality, as Gwent Police confirmed part of the bridge had been closed off for filming an episode of BBC One's Casualty.

One eyewitness who was walking over the bridge on Saturday described the silver vehicle as “precariously positioned”, half-on, half-off the structure and pointing towards the River Usk.

Others took to Twitter to share pictures and talk about what was happening.

@xrachelx1_ said: "Oooh they're filming Casualty on George Street Bridge! Limo hanging over the side of it! Thought it was real lol."

@Nishat91 wrote: "Casualty filming in Newport on George Street Bridge... looks quite cool TBH."

Ray Morgan, 60, was heading back to his home in Windsor Road when he saw the car and thought there had been a terrible accident.

He told the Argus: "I thought the car had crashed when I was approaching, it was quite realistic. The bumper was flapping in the wind. Then I saw the BBC trucks."

In January the series, which has moved production crews to South Wales, was filmed at a house on the corner of West Park Drive and Bassaleg Road.

This month the BBC drama celebrated 27th years since its first episode.

It is the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world.

A survey published by Radio Times magazine in March 2004 revealed Casualty has featured more future stars than any other UK soap or drama series.

Kate Winslet, Orlando Bloom, Ray Winstone and David Walliams are just a handful in that category.

Discussing her 1993 role, Winslet, star of Titanic and The Reader, said: "Appearing in Casualty taught me a big lesson in how to be natural in front of the camera."

The series has been based at the Roath Lock studios in Cardiff Bay since late 2011 and it is one of a number like Dr Who using Wales' scenery to its benefit.

The first episode from Cardiff, broadcast on January 7 2012, was 80 minutes long.

Two new doctors are due to hit our screens in the next few weeks- brothers George Rainsford (Call the Midwife) and Richard Winsor (Streetdance 3D) as Doctors Ethan and Caleb.

The series returned on Saturday after a week off to allow the broadcast of Last Night of the Proms.