A retired engineer has come up with a plan to stop Sheppey grinding to a halt whenever there are roadworks.

John Twiselton from Minster said: "There have been two recent situations were road closures on main arterial routes on the Island have led to traffic chaos and gridlock for substantial periods.

"There is no doubt that if these roadworks had been regulated in a professional manner the traffic disruption could have been significantly reduced."

He wants special rules to apply to any roadworks planned for the A249 Sheppey Crossing to Sheerness, the A250 Queenborough Road and Halfway Road to Sheerness and the A2500 Cowstead Corner roundabout to Eastchurch.

Speaking as Southern Water began a month of roadworks at the entrance to Sheerness, he said: "Roadworks in rural areas should be undertaken on a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week continuous basis to minimise disruption and works in urban areas should be undertaken continuously throughout daylight hours, also seven days a week."

He says traffic lights should have "sufficient built-in intelligence" to respond to changing traffic conditions throughout the day.

He has sent his proposals to Kent County Council councillors Cameron Beart and Andy Booth, who represent the Island, to present them to .

He added: "All roadwork schemes must be thoroughly examined to ensure closure is minimised and any overrun is investigated thoroughly.

"Work causing carriageway disruption should only happen on one of the three named arterial roads at any one time."

He has also suggested a link connecting Whiteways roundabout on the Brielle Way to New Road, which is home to many of Sheppey's industrial units, would "massively reduce" congestion at Halfway traffic lights and the Tesco roundabout.

He added: "It would not be a cheap option as the link would have to cross the railway line but strategically it would prove to be a massive saving in time and money in the long run."

Cllr Booth, who chairs the KCC scrutiny committee, said: "I have regular meetings with highways officers relating to a whole host of issues right across the Island and I will take these constructive comments up with them at the earliest convenience and report back any responses they wish to make."