Blackburn with Darwen Council is investigating after drivers were faced with long queues at one of the borough's busiest junctions following a Rovers match.

Fans leaving home games at Ewood Park have faced long queues trailing back from Preston Old Road at the junction with Buncer Lane all the way back to Hamilton Street.

The council said the lights were being monitored after concerns were raised.

The slow traffic was compounded by the traffic lights which were only allowing around six to seven drivers before they quickly turned red again.

The situation was described as "madness" by one driver who uses the route regularly and on match days.

Others called for the police officer who would manually control the lights at the junction to return.

Asif, who has been attending games for years said: “This is madness. You would think they would have sorted this mess out. 

“This is completely unnecessary and causing delays for drivers. We were sat in the queue for twenty minutes and people think it is just due to the amount of traffic. When you get to the traffic lights there is a huge rush to make the lights before they turn red again.

“Also, it is causing pollution on the roads that can be avoided.”

Another driver who uses the route said: “There used to be an officer who manually controlled the lights for about 15 minutes. It made a huge difference.”

In a video filmed by the Lancashire Telegraph after the Wrexham game on Monday night, half a dozen drivers were being let through the lights before they quickly turned red again. The traffic snaked back along Spring Lane, Stantliffe Street, past the Havelock Inn and Aqueduct Street.

Head of highways at Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, Carmel Foster-Devine said: “Investigations were carried out at this junction at the beginning of January, following several reports of short greens from Spring Lane and Buncer Lane.

“The company responsible for these lights have been out and replaced batteries in the above ground repeater units for the in-road detectors which has improved the issue. This is still being monitored by them to make further adjustments where required.”

There have also been concerns over the lack of priority given to drivers during the afternoon school rush hour at Buncer Lane.

Long queues are forming at the junction as parents come to pick up their children compared to almost empty lanes on Preston Old Road. There were calls for priorities to change during the afternoon school rush hour to ease congestion.

The council’s highways team said Buncer Lane and Spring Lane ‘will always run shorter green times compared to Preston Old Road and Redlam as the latter are primary and strategic routes’.