diff --git a/test/test-xml.sh b/test/test-xml.sh
index f2a85ac..c50bab9 100755
--- a/test/test-xml.sh
+++ b/test/test-xml.sh
@@ -53,6 +53,14 @@
   ((ERRORS++))
 fi
 
+observed=$(grep -Ec '^Copyright' target/dnb13.i5.xml)
+if $(assert_eq "$observed" "2"); then
+  log_success "spaces at <br> elements are inserted correctly"
+else
+  log_failure "spaces at <br> elements are not inserted correctly"
+  ((ERRORS++))
+fi
+
 
 if [ $ERRORS -gt 0 ]; then
   log_failure "There were $ERRORS errors"
diff --git a/xslt/epub2i5.xsl b/xslt/epub2i5.xsl
index d87530f..82a18d3 100644
--- a/xslt/epub2i5.xsl
+++ b/xslt/epub2i5.xsl
@@ -509,7 +509,9 @@
         </xsl:if>
     </xsl:template>
 
-    <xsl:template match="xhtml:br"/>
+    <xsl:template match="xhtml:br">
+        <lb/><xsl:text>&#10;</xsl:text>
+    </xsl:template>
 
     <xsl:template match="xhtml:*">
         <xsl:message>