MALFUNCTIONING temporary traffic lights which left a town gridlocked during the morning rush hour may have been vandalised or hit by a car.

Frustrated motorists were queuing in both directions on the B1029 in Brightlingsea yesterday morning which is the only route in and out of the town.

The tailbacks impacted people throughout the area as they headed to work and school.

Essex County Council had been forced to install the temporary lights earlier in the week after a manhole cover collapsed.

The work was classed as an emergency and needed immediate action.

Mary Adams was one of the people caught up in the gridlock and said the problem was caused by the lights only letting a small number of vehicles through on the outbound carriageway.

She said: “There was traffic chaos in Brightlingsea.

“Traffic lights on Thorrington Road are causing traffic gridlock and queues for more than two miles back into the town.

“The sequence is ridiculous and not letting enough cars through.

“It is the same on the return journey causing traffic to sit in Tenpenny Hill and half way back towards Clacton.”

Jason Theobald was also stuck and said the lights had not had as much of an impact previously.

He added: “It was chaos leaving Brightlingsea as ill-timed temporary traffic lights caused massive delays.

“It has taken more than an hour to travel less than one mile.

“The day before was bad but not as bad as this.”

An Essex Highways spokesman, said experts returned to the site at 10am and were able to fix the lights which had been tampered with in some way.

He said: “It seems that either through vandalism or a vehicle strike, the traffic light head, which includes the traffic sensor, had been moved round so that it no longer reacted to the queueing traffic as designed.

“Queues were reduced to minimal and we apologise to everyone who was unduly delayed there in the morning.

“The crew are also set to replace the manhole cover and remove the traffic lights.”