MUMS and kids were forced to dash across a busy road in High Wycombe after a set of traffic lights went out near the Rye.

The lights, on London Road, switched off around midday last Thursday after a power cable was mistakenly cut by Buckinghamshire County Council contractors.

But it took until around 7pm the following day for them to be fixed.

Mums who regularly take their kids to The Rye say their safety was put at risk by the gaffe and that the lights should have been fixed quicker.

Chris Norris, 22, of London Road, said road warning signs were erected next to the lights around midday on Friday.

Mrs Norris, a mother-of-two, frequently takes her children to The Rye but decided to cut back their trips while the lights were out.

She said: "It was a terrible feeling. It is just like a racetrack anyway and no one would stop.

"I have seen a few people go up and race across but with children you can't really do that."

Mrs Norris said the lights should have been corrected immediately.

She said: "It should have happened within one or two hours of it going out - not two days. It was ridiculous. This road has been very dangerous.

"We have been here for two years and we have had five crashes already."

Sara Bundy, 36, also of London Road, said the lights were vital to those who wanted to use the park.

She is a regular visitor with daughter Sophia.

She said: "I had to wait until somebody stopped their car to let me across. If she hadn't done that I wouldn't have got across."

Jennifer Dobson, 24, of Peterborough Avenue, High Wycombe, crosses the road to take her son, Ryan, four, to Busy Bees nursery.

She said: "It was a nightmare because there was a lot of traffic and people are in a rush in the morning.

"They are not really willing to stop and, especially when you are with a little boy, it is quite dangerous."

Si Khan, local area coordinator for Bucks County Council, said there was a delay in fixing the lights because the authority was only made aware of the problem on Friday.

She said contractors performing footpath remedial work had accidentally damaged a cable. She said: "It is unfortunate that this incident happened but sometimes we just can't help it unfortunately. Because the work is so close to cabling sometimes damage can occur. We are sorry it happened."