FRUSTRATED motorists in North Walsham have been put on red alert to scrutinize the impact of long-awaited new traffic-lights which went green for 'Go' this week.

FRUSTRATED motorists in North Walsham have been put on red alert to scrutinize the impact of long-awaited new traffic-lights which went green for 'Go' this week.

The hi-tech �44,000 system became fully operational on Tuesday last week at the town's major intersection with the A149 by-pass.

Norfolk County Council highways chiefs hope it will end more than a year of queue aggravation for drivers on Grammar School Road caught in tailbacks to the traffic lights, caused after the layout of a mini roundabout was changed and a right-turning lane removed, to improve pedestrian safety.

A period of monitoring and adjustment has now begun to check that the sophisticated Mova - Micro processor Optimised Vehicle Actuation - lights are doing their job and controlling the junction efficiently to minimise queues.

Town council clerk Margaret Foster urged junction users to phone her and report any tailbacks this month, giving times, location and dates, so that she can pass on the information to the highways department.

Mrs Foster made her plea after a complaint from Walsham resident Doug Bobby at Tuesday's Town Meeting.

He said the new lights were a complete waste of money and would not have been needed if the right-turning lane had not been removed. Mr Bobby predicted that, in dealing with tailbacks on Grammar School Road, the Mova system would create queues along Norwich Road, backing up to the water towers.

Town councillor Ellen Grover said North Walsham residents should work together to monitor and report the situation and, if the lights didn't solve the problem, press for the changes to be reversed.

She said: 'What the county council did to Grammar School Road was the biggest disaster to happen to the town in a long time.'

�Contact the town council, weekday mornings, on 01692 404114.