Police and highways contractors were called to the Bell Lane junction with Main Road in Kesgrave after a failure with the temporary traffic lights caused disruption for more than six hours.

Suffolk police officers were called at 8.50am by a member of the public reporting that the traffic lights had failed around 15 minutes prior.

Police contacted Suffolk County Council’s highways team and alerted them to the issue.

Motorists in Kesgrave have reported nose-to-tail build ups and confusion at the junction, which is one of the busiest in Kesgrave.

A police spokeswoman said that it did not currently have anyone directing traffic at the scene, although a passing police officer did stop to help direct traffic at around 1pm.

A Suffolk County Council highways spokeswoman said: “Suffolk Highways were made aware of an intermittent traffic signal fault at the junction of Bell Lane and Main Road. The traffic signals are now back in place and will continue to be monitored by staff on site. We would like to thank residents for their patience and for bringing this matter to our attention.”

The fault was repaired by 3.20pm, although it is not clear why it took more than six hours to rectify.

Upgrade work began at the junction on July 24, with the work set to finish on August 11 before work on the Beech Road junction with Main Road begins later this month.

Contractors are carrying out the work at night to reduce the impact on traffic during the day.