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Traffic lights out on Ashford's Somerset Road and Canterbury Road junction

By: Charlie Harman

Published: 10:18, 23 January 2020

Updated: 15:33, 23 January 2020

Traffic lights aren't working at a town centre junction, which has been the scene of a number of accidents.

Both motorists and pedestrians have been left confused as signalling has stopped at the Ashford ring road junction between Somerset Road and Canterbury Road.

The traffic lights on the Somerset Road junction aren't working (27430615)

One incident saw a bus fully in the centre of the crossing, with cars stopped either side facing opposite directions.

A number of pedestrians could be seen watching the traffic, stuck on one side as no cars will stop for them.

Nearby residents are reporting that they're experiencing a power outage in their homes.

A gaggle of pedestrians are waiting to cross, with no ability to halt the traffic (27430612)

The Applegreen garage situated on the corner is also closed due to a power cut, as is the popular Amici Italian restaurant on North Street.

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UK Power Networks is suggesting the affected area could stretch to Repton Park and the Norton Knatchbull School.

The utility operator said: "UK Power Networks engineers are working safely and quickly to repair an underground cable following a fault on the electricity network.

"We aim to restore power to the 30 properties affected soon as possible and apologise for the inconvenience caused."

The intersection is a hotspot for accidents, with a secondary school-aged boy hospitalised after being hit by a car in April.

Ashford's top-rated restaurant on TripAdvisor, Amici on North Street, has had to close (27453709)

In March, a woman was also taken to the William Harvey Hospital following an accident.

Two months prior to this, emergency services had to attend a collision involving a pensioner and a car.

So many accidents have taken place at the junction that nearby residents called for a safety review.

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Kent County Council says it had already redesigned the crossing in 2016 to improve safety.

The busy intersection is un-managed, leading to confusion among drivers (27430617)

KCC has been contacted over the traffic light outage.

Read more: All the latest news from Ashford

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