Moving a set of traffic lights to improve traffic flow through the centre of Lincoln has been ruled out by council officers.

It emerged earlier this week that the rail barriers across High Street are staying down for longer because they are linked to nearby traffic lights.

If a second train is expected within one to two minutes after the first, the barriers will stay down rather than going up briefly to let people through.

This is so that queuing motorists are not then held up by the sequence of the traffic lights on the city centre side of the crossing.

It had been suggested that moving the lights to the lower High Street side of the barriers might enable rail staff to raise them more frequently to let foot traffic through.

But Lincolnshire County Council divisional highways manager Alan Aistrup said: "Relocating the traffic lights south of the level crossing would create an unacceptable safety risk at the junction of Wigford Way, the High Street and St Mary's Street.

"It is also likely to have an effect on congestion at the barriers, as it may increase blocking back through the junction leading to increased delays on St Mary's Street and Wigford Way.

"For this reason, we are working with Network Rail to find a long-term solution to this issue, a major element of which will be an east-west link road, which will direct traffic away from the High Street, reducing the delay at the level-crossing."

It was also suggested that the pedestrian crossing outside Iceland in High Street might also be contributing to the problem.

A survey earlier this year showed the barriers in High Street are down for an average of 15 minutes in every hour from 9am to 5pm.