Two cars collided after traffic lights went off along a key route into the city centre.

Paramedics were called out after a car and a taxi crashed at one of the affected junctions on Manchester Road, Bradford, yesterday.

The black Mercedes taxi and the red Ford Focus collided at about 10.30am at the junction of Manchester Road and Croft Street, near the city centre.

A police spokesman said the traffic lights had been out and the crash had left debris strewn across the carriageway.

Early reports which suggested two people were injured turned out not to be the case.

The police also had a call earlier that day, at about 8.20am, telling them that the lights were out at a separate Manchester Road junction further out of the city, believed to be at St Stephen’s Road.

Motorist Ian Jayne contacted the T&A to say he had seen a near-miss there as a small car pulled out in front of a 4x4, causing it to brake sharply.

Another motorist who travelled along Manchester Road at about 11am said by that time around five sets of traffic lights were not working.

She said: “The pedestrian crossings were working but the junction control ones weren’t. They were all out.”

She said she passed the accident at Croft Street, where the emergency services were already at the scene.

“I came past when the ambulance was there already. The police were in the road directing traffic,” she said.

“I’m not surprised there was an accident because there are about seven lanes intersecting there.”

The driver of the taxi, Kaiser Zumeer, of Douglas Radio Cars, was shaken but otherwise unharmed, according to his firm. Manager Ased Nawaz said: “He’s a bit shook up.

“These things shouldn’t really happen and it’s not the first time it’s happened here.

“In my memory, since they have done up Manchester Road, they’ve gone out ten or 11 times.”

Bradford Council, which looks after the roads, said lights had been out at only two junctions.

Yesterday, a spokesman said: “The lights at Croft Street were not operating because of vandalism and the lights at St Stephen’s Road were out due to a fault. We quickly responded to both problems.

“The lights at Croft Street have been repaired and temporary lights have been installed at St Stephen’s Road while repairs are being carried out.”