A cycle lane that has been built on a lane of a busy North East road has been received poorly by locals who have called its location “wrong”.

Houghton-le-Spring residents have been up in arms about a new cycle lane that has replaced a lane on a busy road that links the A690 to roads heading towards Newbottle.

Posts have surfaced across social media of the lane that has become seriously unpopular with drivers who have snapped pictures of queuing traffic in the one lane that remains.

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One resident from Burnside, close to the road, has slammed the choice of location for the new lane, calling it “wrong”.

They said: “It’s wrong what the council have done. They have not thought about it and that is wrong. They have put that solid concrete bike lane all the way up the road and they haven’t thought about a scenario of if emergency services need to get through.

“On a morning, I used to drop my daughter off at school and use that road to get back home. When there were two lanes, there was never an issue and cars would whizz by."

He added: “I have stopped going that way now because the traffic stretches around the roundabout and you’re moving sometimes at ten or five miles an hour.

“The congestion is just ridiculous. Yes, it does clear up fast but you’re still dawdling along slowly.”

Other residents have used their voice online to express their anger, with another resident commenting: “Whoever thought up these plans clearly have no clue what they are doing.”

The Northern Echo contacted Sunderland City Council about the new lane, who confirmed it has been funded externally from a Government fund and addressed residents’ concerns about emergency service access.

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A spokesperson said: “Work is ongoing to create a new part segregated, part shared pedestrian and cycleway facility to provide a direct route from Durham to Sunderland city centre and beyond.

“The work is being externally funded by the Government’s Transforming Cities Fund, and once complete will provide safe designated pedestrian/cycle routes as low carbon transport links, while improving road safety for all users.

“This will make it easier for residents to choose healthy and sustainable modes of transport, and support the council’s commitment to create a healthier and greener city. 

"As with all projects, collaboration with the emergency services and key stakeholders from an early stage has been an integral part of the council's engagement process to ensure that the routes identified are safe and accessible for all users.”