CAMPAIGNERS have blamed a set of faulty traffic lights after a Ford Mustang smashed into the side of a car.

A shocked motorcyclist recorded footage of the crash in Northern Approach, Colchester.

The smash happened at the junction with Turner Road, where traffic signals in all directions were out of use.

The motorcyclist uploaded the footage to YouTube, where he said: “I was just riding home from a midday gym session after a ride in the sun and this Mustang blasted through some broken traffic lights into the side of this poor little car.

“Everyone seemed reasonably okay. The older woman in the little car seemed shook up and the Mustang driver had a bleeding hand. There were no passengers in either car.

“I explained what happened to the police officer, where I was during the accident and how the two cars crashed.

“When I mentioned the traffic lights were broken the Mustang driver said ‘thanks buddy’ to me, but does that really excuse his driving?”

Martin Goss, ward councillor for Mile End, said this was the latest in a series of three crashes in the past year at the junction. This crash happened on Saturday, June 10.

Mr Goss said: “I believe the lights were out late on Friday night.

“I reported them to Essex Highways and an engineer came out on Saturday morning.

“An engineer was dispatched but the lights broke down again on Saturday fairly quickly.

“This was the weekend of the Ollie Murs concert so there was a greater volume of traffic on this road.

“This crash happened on Saturday and it probably wouldn’t have happened had the lights been working.

“You couldn’t make it up.

“This junction has got a history.

“There was a crash on April 17 when a car ran the lights.

“There was another last year when a guy ended up in court as a result.

“Myself and councillor Anne Turrell have asked Essex County Council to undertake a safety assessment at the junction.”

Footage of the crash can be watched by visiting youtube.com/watch?v=FdnhxtDyZvw

An Essex Highways spokesman said: “Faulty traffic lights along Northern Approach, at the junction with Turner Road, were reported to us on Saturday morning.

“An engineer attended immediately to perform a temporary fix and returned later to complete a full fix within 24 hours.

“When confronted with faulty traffic lights, road users should exercise extreme caution and attempt to report the issue at the earliest safe opportunity. “ Report issues on 0345 603 763 or essex.gov.uk/highways.