A major set of traffic lights in the town centre have failed six times in the last six months.

Traffic lights on the Watford ring road at the junction of the A411 Exchange Road and Lower High Street stopped working on Saturday, October 15, at around 2pm.

In a video shared on social media, one person referred to the incident as “an emergency”.

Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) is the organisation responsible for the lights.

Read More

Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) is the organisation responsible for the lights.

A spokesperson said: “We have recorded six faults with these lights over the last six months, caused by an unstable power supply.

“We have reported this to UK Power Networks, who are responsible for the power supply.”

In the video, which has had hundreds of views, the lights stop working and there is a near-miss involving a van driving towards people crossing.

 

In the video, a man can be heard saying: “Oh, the lights have failed.

“Faulty lights, this is an emergency.

“If Watford Council can’t sort this out in half an hour, then any deaths are on their hands.

“Look at the amount of people that cannot cross because the lights are not going red for the cars.

“Even the bus, he can’t even go about his business.”

Watford Observer: HCC said the lights have not work six times in the last six months. Picture: Google Street ViewHCC said the lights have not work six times in the last six months. Picture: Google Street View (Image: Google Street View)

HCC confirmed the lights were fixed on Saturday afternoon and Herts Police confirmed there were no collisions.  

UK Power Network said it was only contacted twice in relation to the faulty lights, once on April 22 and the second on October 17.

A spokesperson said: “We were alerted yesterday (Monday) morning to the traffic lights being out on the junction of Watford ring road and Lower High Street.

“We dispatched a crew, which arrived just after 11am. They replaced a piece of electrical equipment, and the work was completed at 1.45pm.

“We work hard to maintain a safe environment and would have attended quickly on Saturday if we had been aware of this incident via our emergency helpline.”

Have you got a story for us? You can contact us here.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep up with all the latest news.

To receive breaking news alerts or newsletters sign up here.

Check out our Watford crime and court Facebook page here.