The green man is set to be lit for longer because as a nation we’re becoming slower and less fit when it comes to crossing the road.

Recommendations given to the Department for Transport suggest that pedestrians now need 20% more time to get from A to B as a result of our changing population.

The recommendation comes from Active Travel England – a government agency responsible for making walking and cycling people’s preferred choice for getting around England.

Walkers currently have 6.1 seconds to cross two lanes of a road – based on an average walking speed of 1.2 metres a second – which is understood to be the international standard.

But transport experts say that time frame is based on the average person – and more consideration needs to be given to those who cannot comfortably cross a road at such a speed.

The new measures propose the green man remains on display for a greater 7.3 secconds – creating an average speed of 1m per second – to help more people get across safely and comfortably.

The guidance notes: “A lot of infrastructure is aimed at the average person, but the number of people excluded by that is growing, so we have to tackle it.

"If we don't give people enough time, they are going to feel they can't cross the road and that will leave some people feeling that they can't leave their own house if they don't have a car.

“We are going to have to meet people where they are. That means local authorities might need to think about extending crossing times."

In 2012 a report found that pedestrian crossings did not always allow older people enough time to cross the road.

The research, which was published in the journal Age and Ageing, called for current crossing times to be reviewed in order to react to the UK’s growing population of older people.

Responding to the findings at the time, ministers suggested that councils could take into account their surroundings when setting the speed for a particular crossing – for example altering the crossing time if a residential home was nearby.