diff --git a/ChangeLog.txt b/ChangeLog.txt
index 5225bf7f..d1edaccd 100644
--- a/ChangeLog.txt
+++ b/ChangeLog.txt
@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@ Broker:
 - Use AF_UNSPEC etc. instead of PF_UNSPEC to comply with POSIX. Closes #863.
 - Remove use of AI_ADDRCONFIG, which means the broker can be used on systems
   where only the loopback interface is defined. Closes #869, Closes #901.
+- Fix IPv6 addresses not being able to be used as bridge addresses.
+  Closes #886.
 
 
 1.5 - 20180502
diff --git a/man/mosquitto.conf.5.xml b/man/mosquitto.conf.5.xml
index 9347cfc5..3d171e99 100644
--- a/man/mosquitto.conf.5.xml
+++ b/man/mosquitto.conf.5.xml
@@ -1030,6 +1030,8 @@
 						bridge to connect to. This must be given for each
 						bridge connection. If the port is not specified, the
 						default of 1883 is used.</para>
+					<para>If you use an IPv6 address, then the port is not
+						optional.</para>
 					<para>Multiple host addresses can be specified on the
 						address config. See the <option>round_robin</option>
 						option for more details on the behaviour of bridges
diff --git a/mosquitto.conf b/mosquitto.conf
index 93f66f3d..96450050 100644
--- a/mosquitto.conf
+++ b/mosquitto.conf
@@ -658,21 +658,29 @@
 # Create a new bridge using the "connection" option as described below. Set
 # options for the bridges using the remaining parameters. You must specify the
 # address and at least one topic to subscribe to.
+#
 # Each connection must have a unique name.
+#
 # The address line may have multiple host address and ports specified. See
 # below in the round_robin description for more details on bridge behaviour if
-# multiple addresses are used.
+# multiple addresses are used. Note that if you use an IPv6 address, then you
+# are required to specify a port.
+#
 # The direction that the topic will be shared can be chosen by 
 # specifying out, in or both, where the default value is out. 
 # The QoS level of the bridged communication can be specified with the next
 # topic option. The default QoS level is 0, to change the QoS the topic
 # direction must also be given.
+#
 # The local and remote prefix options allow a topic to be remapped when it is
 # bridged to/from the remote broker. This provides the ability to place a topic
 # tree in an appropriate location. 
+#
 # For more details see the mosquitto.conf man page.
+#
 # Multiple topics can be specified per connection, but be careful 
 # not to create any loops.
+#
 # If you are using bridges with cleansession set to false (the default), then
 # you may get unexpected behaviour from incoming topics if you change what
 # topics you are subscribing to. This is because the remote broker keeps the
diff --git a/src/conf.c b/src/conf.c
index 06513348..721207d5 100644
--- a/src/conf.c
+++ b/src/conf.c
@@ -714,6 +714,7 @@ int config__read_file_core(struct mosquitto__config *config, bool reload, struct
 	int tmp_int;
 	char *saveptr = NULL;
 #ifdef WITH_BRIDGE
+	char *tmp_char;
 	struct mosquitto__bridge *cur_bridge = NULL;
 	struct mosquitto__bridge_topic *cur_topic;
 #endif
@@ -732,10 +733,7 @@ int config__read_file_core(struct mosquitto__config *config, bool reload, struct
 #endif
 	int len;
 	struct mosquitto__listener *cur_listener = &config->default_listener;
-#ifdef WITH_BRIDGE
-	char *address;
 	int i;
-#endif
 	int lineno_ext;
 	struct mosquitto__security_options *cur_security_options = NULL;
 
@@ -773,22 +771,33 @@ int config__read_file_core(struct mosquitto__config *config, bool reload, struct
 						cur_bridge->addresses[cur_bridge->address_count-1].address = token;
 					}
 					for(i=0; i<cur_bridge->address_count; i++){
-						address = strtok_r(cur_bridge->addresses[i].address, ":", &saveptr);
-						if(address){
-							token = strtok_r(NULL, ":", &saveptr);
-							if(token){
-								tmp_int = atoi(token);
-								if(tmp_int < 1 || tmp_int > 65535){
-									log__printf(NULL, MOSQ_LOG_ERR, "Error: Invalid port value (%d).", tmp_int);
-									return MOSQ_ERR_INVAL;
-								}
-								cur_bridge->addresses[i].port = tmp_int;
-							}else{
-								cur_bridge->addresses[i].port = 1883;
+						/* cur_bridge->addresses[i].address is now
+						 * "address[:port]". If address is an IPv6 address,
+						 * then port is required. We must check for the :
+						 * backwards. */
+						tmp_char = strrchr(cur_bridge->addresses[i].address, ':');
+						if(tmp_char){
+							/* Remove ':', so cur_bridge->addresses[i].address
+							 * now just looks like the address. */
+							tmp_char[0] = '\0';
+
+							/* The remainder of the string */
+							tmp_int = atoi(&tmp_char[1]);
+							if(tmp_int < 1 || tmp_int > 65535){
+								log__printf(NULL, MOSQ_LOG_ERR, "Error: Invalid port value (%d).", tmp_int);
+								return MOSQ_ERR_INVAL;
 							}
-							cur_bridge->addresses[i].address = mosquitto__strdup(address);
-							conf__attempt_resolve(address, "bridge address", MOSQ_LOG_WARNING, "Warning");
+							cur_bridge->addresses[i].port = tmp_int;
+						}else{
+							cur_bridge->addresses[i].port = 1883;
 						}
+						/* This looks a bit weird, but isn't. Before this
+						 * call, cur_bridge->addresses[i].address points
+						 * to the tokenised part of the line, it will be
+						 * reused in a future parse of a config line so we
+						 * must duplicate it. */
+						cur_bridge->addresses[i].address = mosquitto__strdup(cur_bridge->addresses[i].address);
+						conf__attempt_resolve(cur_bridge->addresses[i].address, "bridge address", MOSQ_LOG_WARNING, "Warning");
 					}
 					if(cur_bridge->address_count == 0){
 						log__printf(NULL, MOSQ_LOG_ERR, "Error: Empty address value in configuration.");