PIONEERING technology which allows horse riders to change traffic lights at the push of a button has been installed at a crossroads.

The state-of-the-art equipment has been positioned in Stone after riders said they were being left stranded in the middle of the road and surrounded by cars after the lights changed too quickly for them to cross.

Now riders will be armed with a hand-held remote which they can press to 'tell' the traffic lights they are coming through. As well as changing the lights at the crossing in their favour, riders will have an extra three seconds to cross.

The £4,600 system has been installed by Staffordshire County Council after a request from a rider at Aston Lodge Stables in Uttoxeter Road.

Sandra Durose, aged 53, from Yarnfield, has kept her horse Amber C Gold, at the stables for five years.

The mother-of-one said the nearby junction of Lichfield Road and Uttoxeter Road had become difficult to cross.

She said: "It happened a few times where I would be left stuck in the middle of the road as the lights changed.

"I contacted the county council to ask if there was anything they could do and they came back to us with this technology.

"It's great as it does give us even more safety."

Whereas traffic lights are mainly triggered by a car on a pressure pad, a horse doesn't have enough mass to indicate its presence.

The remote control will allow riders to prompt a green light when the junction is quiet, in the way that vehicles can by driving up to the controls.

Mrs Durose added: "We don't want motorists to think we are going to be getting in the way as we only go out when it's quiet and usually only about once a week at the most.

"Cars have about seven seconds to get through the junction until the lights change, if we pass through, it will increase that to 10 seconds."

The crossroads in Stone are the first place in the county where the technology has been installed.

The stables have been handed five of the transmitters to loan out to its users.

Owner of the stables, Val Gilbert, pictured below, said: "It's fantastic that something like this has been introduced.

"Before there were mini-roundabouts on the junction and since the traffic lights some of our riders have had problems."

Councillor Philip Jones, Staffordshire County Council member for Stone Urban, said: "This hi-tech crossing will be a big benefit to the horse riding community of Stone.

"Staffordshire is a rural county and it is important that the needs of horse riders are reflected in our road network alongside the needs of motorists, cyclists and pedestrians.

"The modifications to the existing traffic lights will make a big difference to the safety of horse riders and their animals.

"Their presence is not picked up by the usual detector loops in the road which means they are unable to input a demand for the signals to change.

"This new system takes that problem out of the equation. It is an excellent scheme and one that I hope to see in other parts of the county in the future."