Buxton man directs traffic at Buxton’s Fiveways after light stopped working

Mark Chesney was having lunch with a friend on Wednesday January, 8.

He was dropped off close to Fiveways and saw the traffic was not moving.

After walking down to the lights he saw all the traffic lights were stuck on red.

He said: “It was carnage there were cars backing up in every direction so I just decided to go for it and sort out the problem myself.”

He put himself in the middle of the traffic and signalled to the drivers that he was going to start sending vehicles out safely.

Mark joked: “Everyone was listening to me and for a brief moment I felt like I had all the power – it was crazy.”

He let vehicles pass the junction on West Road, they High Street, Dale Road, Green Lane and then London Road and returned to West Road to start over again.

Mark said: “I had massive lorries flashing me, people tooting their thanks, others wound down their windows to shout nice things.

“It was just lovely.

“It needed to be done and I just did a little something to fix the town.” Mark took on the unofficial role of traffic management at 2.50pm after almost an hour he was relieved by a Derbyshire Constabulary police officer who took over.

He added: “I was so cold at the end I wasn’t dressed for being out in the snow for that long, but it was a bit of fun and helped lots of people.”