A Frome man has called for a traffic control in the Wallbridge area of the town to be removed after the lights failed for six days.

Chris Moxon, who works as a delivery driver and travels thousands of miles a week, said the lights situated at the A362 Warminster Road junction with New Road, in the Wallbridge area of Frome, failed last Wednesday and were only fixed on Tuesday morning.

Mr Moxon, aged 42, said: "I travel out of Frome on the Warminster Road every day and have found that with the lights out of order it has made tackling the junction much easier.

"And people are also thinking about their driving a lot more and taking more care. We as drivers and pedestrians need to be trusted more and I believe taking away these lights will help build confidence in driving."

This is the sixth time in two months that the lights, which are still controlled by Asda supermarket, have failed and Mr Moxon believes a pilot scheme in the Netherlands, which has seen the country take out road signs and traffic controls in smaller communities, should be adopted in this country.

Mr Moxon, of Stourton View, said: "I don't understand why the traffic lights are needed.

"I think planners who insist on these Section 106 agreements for such things as traffic lights have got it wrong. A junction would be better."

But local councillors disagree.

Cllr Felix Fitzpatrick (Con, Berkley Down) said: "This is a disgraceful situation. Motorists have been driving carefully but my main concern is that someone will be hurt in an accident.

"It needs addressing to see what improvements can be made."

And Cllr Adrian Dobinson (Lib Dem, Berkley Down) has written to Asda to demand it fixes the traffic lights.

He said: "They must be fixed as a matter of urgency before a serious collision occurs, or a pedestrian is knocked down.

"These lights were located in a very dangerous place to start with; the pedestrian crossing should be much closer to Asda.

"I will be campaigning for the entire traffic lights and pedestrian crossing system in this part of my ward to be completely rethought to make it both pedestrian and car-user friendly."

A spokeswoman for Somerset County Council said: "The traffic lights near Asda have not been adopted by Somerset County Council yet.

"This area is still the developers' site. The traffic lights have been affected by flooding recently.

"We have been in discussion with the developer to try and mitigate the problem by raising the controller."

However, an Asda spokesman said the traffic lights had been out of service due to a minor electrical fault.

The spokesman said: "Flooding could be a reason for the traffic lights malfunctioning, as this would cause an electrical fault. However, we believe that the issue is caused by an intermittent electrical fault with the traffic light system itself, not a foreign body or object."

The spokesman said the store apologised for any inconvenience the lights failure had caused local people and shoppers.