MOTORISTS stuck in a traffic backlog on the A590 called for roadworks to be removed after facing delays of up to an hour.

Traffic was backed going both ways on a stretch of the road around Newlands yesterday morning, with temporary traffic lights in place causing logjams.

Commuters were frustrated after they faced delays in the morning when there no workers at the scene.

The works are part of a BT scheme involving electrical work and will continue until September 21.

The temporary traffic lights will only be used when needed for safety reasons after Highways England contacted BT.

Writing on Facebook, Karen Allenby said: “I got stuck in the traffic lights at 7am. There was no sign of any work, just traffic cones creating an obstruction.”

Tim Woodburn said: “It was still the same after 8am .

“Seriously bad planning laying the cones out before works starts. I was gonna stop and kick them to the side of the road.”

Katie Ardron said: “It is an absolute joke.”

Commuters caught in the traffic complained to highways bosses and Furness independent MP, John Woodcock.

Mr Woodcock demanded action after motorists complained that temporary lights were causing hold-ups and contacted Highways England asking it to act.

He said: “I am pleased that Highways England has acted to improve the situation at Newlands and things should soon be back to normal.

“It is hard to understand why the people carrying out the works thought waits of 30 minutes to an hour would be acceptable to motorists.

“There will still be some minor disruption, but hopefully it will not be anything like what we have seen over the past two days.”

A spokesman for Highways England said: “The work at on the A590 at Newlands is being carried out by BT until September 21.

“We have asked BT’s contractor to only use temporary traffic lights when absolutely necessary to provide a safe working space for the workforce, so that the impact on drivers can be kept to a minimum.”