A CYCLIST has expressed his disbelief at the failure to fix a set of traffic lights at a main road crossing near the South Marston Industrial Estate four weeks after they first failed.

Matthew French, 48, who works on the estate as an assembly worker and commutes from his home in Park South, believes it is only a matter of time before someone is seriously hurt or killed there.

The lights are located on the busy Highworth Road along the length between Honda and the South Marston Industrial Estate roundabout – they facilitate an important pedestrian and cycle crossing.

Matthew said: “It’s nearly four weeks now, it’s disgraceful that they’re still not working.

“It can get really busy on that road and sometimes we stand there for three, four or five minutes waiting to cross.

“People just have to go for it and get across – you’ve only got to pick the wrong moment and then bang.

“I wish they would get it sorted or someone will get seriously injured or even killed.”

Matthew alerted Swindon Borough Council to the issue using their standard fault reporting service when he first noticed the lights were not working.

Covers have since been placed over the pedestrian assistance screen at the crossing indicating it is out of service and signs have been hung on the traffic light poles to illustrate the fault.

A spokesperson for the council said: “We were alerted to the issues with the traffic signals and lighting and identified a fault with the electricity network.

“The fault was reported to Scottish and Southern Electric on 31 March.”

Matthew says he is not the only person asking why the lights are still broken, almost four weeks on.

He added: “My other colleagues who cycle or walk are worried about it as well, they’re all saying the same thing – why hasn’t it been fixed yet?”

Although the road only has a single lane in each direction, it carries a significant number of HGVs serving the various industrial complexes in the area.

Concerns about speeding along that particular stretch prompted Wiltshire Police to carry out an early morning speed enforcement operation there in November.

A commemorative wreath sits on a fence immediately adjacent to the faulty lights as a reminder of how dangerous the road can be.

A spokesman for Southern Electric Power Distribution said: “We were first alerted to this problem with the streetlights on Highworth Road on 31 March and our investigations have been ongoing since then.

“These investigations have included numerous visits to the site, with the most recent one being on Wednesday.

“We would like to apologise to any of our customers who may have been inconvenienced by this situation, and assure them we are doing everything we can to resolve the matter as quickly and as safely as possible.”