NEW traffic lights are set to ease rush-hour headaches on the A174 at Greystone where the roundabout has the third worst accident record in Redcar and Cleveland.

As councillors gave the move the green light on Tuesday, one member of the technical services committee, Coun Pat Harford, said: "To get on to that roundabout now you have to burn rubber like a Formula One driver.

"This scheme can only be a good thing in reducing that sort of incident and it is more than welcome."

Queues stretching 1,000 metres should come to an end with the installation of peak-hour signals on the Greystone roundabout in East Cleveland. Monitoring has showed motorists have regularly faced delays of up to 17 minutes on the approach to the roundabout.

Most accidents are caused by drivers' uncertainty on entering the roundabout, as little or no indication is given by vehicles already on it as to when they will exit, leading to dangerous guessing games.

The committee approved the provision of lights under a scheme which already has Highways Agency funding.

Signals will be placed on the Parkway and Lazenby bypass approaches during morning and evening peaks. Carriageways will be resurfaced to improved skid resistance and upgraded signs will improve lane usage.

The work is scheduled to start on June 21 and end by early August with construction timed to avoid peak times.

Deputy technical services director, Mr Andy Hyams, said: "This scheme has been too long in the development, but at least we are now getting somewhere with it."