Drivers have been experiencing lengthy delays around the junction 10 roundabout for more than a week.

Highways England engineers carried out initial inspections of the faulty traffic lights and said the problem was a fault with the timer.

Repair works to set the timer back to normal are 'ongoing.'

But one resident and regular user of the route said he is suspicious of the timing of the problems.

Tony Heyden, a commuter from Mersham, has been using the busy roundabout for more than eight years said the lights have suffered constant issues with timings and system breaks.

But he said the recent changes in traffic light timings – which he believes have dropped by more than half – could have something to do with the junction 10a plans.

He said: "I hope it’s just a coincidence. However, since the proposal and public review for the new junction 10a, the traffic light timings for the A2070 slip road have gone from 20 seconds to a mere seven.

"If it is a ploy to change public opinion to vote in favour on the proposed junction 10a by creating a situation at junction 10, then it is not only once again causing stress to commuters who just want to work, but also put the lives of people at risk.

"Ambulances are being blocked and delayed due to the build up of static traffic from the Orbital Park roundabout, while the traffic sits, the majority of the time, at an empty roundabout.

"How long do the residents have to put up with this?"

But, Andrew Broughton, spokesman for Highways England, denied the fault had anything to do with junction 10a.

He said engineers were still working on the timer on one set of lights but the others were back to normal.

He said: "Although the sequences have been reset, we need to fix the link between the controller and the lights affected to reduce the likelihood of the sequences changing again.

"The case for junction 10a is clearly set out in our consultation document and this fault is unrelated."