Green Light For Island Nation

THE RESIDENTS of the Isle of Scilly are a patient lot, as they are to get their first set of traffic lights. Their appearance is nearly 150 years after they first appeared in England.

However, residents can breath a sigh of relief as the measures are temporary as part of work being carried out on the island’s airport.

It is believed to be the first time traffic lights have been installed on the islands, which have barely 10 miles of roads and little chance of any motorists breaking the national speed limit.

Scilly council chair Amanda Martin said: "I believe these are the first traffic lights we've had, although they are not on the road system. We have got a few A-class roads and to be honest a few people have a bit of a bug bear that we have to pay road tax.

"Obviously, there are cars on the islands - but motorists would find it hard to get much more than 20mph on the roads because they are so short. Put it this way, you'd struggle to get into fourth gear."

London's first traffic lights were installed in Westminster in 1868 to help MPs get to the House of Commons and were rolled out across much of Britain from the 1920s.

By Press Association reporters