MILES of tailbacks blocked Blackburn's roads yesterday - due to traffic lights that stayed green for just 10 seconds.

The race to get through at the bottom of Whalley Old Road left nearly a three-mile hold-up during the rush hour.

Blackburn with Darwen council today blamed a short circuit - but one councillor said the glitch was a regular problem.

On his way to work Gordon Lucas, of Langho, said yesterday: "Normally it takes three minutes but I was queued up for 40 minutes. The green light was only on for 10 seconds at a time.

"The traffic was built up back to the Shepherd's Rest."

The lights were on Whalley Old Road for vehicles turning into Brownhill Drive (A6119), which is a dual carriageway leading to Whitebirk and the M65. The route is used as a shortcut for commuters from Rishton, Great Harwood, Brownhill and Ribble Valley.

George Bell, associate director for highways and transportation at Blackburn with Darwen Council said: "The problem arose due to a short circuit within the traffic light system.

"They were temporarily fixed within two hours of first being reported, with a view to being permanently fixed in the near future. However, we do not anticipate any further problems with the lights and apologise for any delay the problem caused."