Two temporary roundabouts are to be installed at Portishead's traffic clogged Cabstand junction to see if it helps to ease congestion in the town.

North Somerset Council has agreed to introduce a trial scheme which will see two mini roundabouts put in at the junction.

One roundabout will be put at the bottom of Cabstand where it joins Station Road and the other at the traffic light junction with Wyndham Way at the top of High Street.

Final details of the trial scheme, due to get under way next spring and be in place for a few months, are now being drawn up.

The move follows a public consultation earlier this year in which options to ease congestion at the junction were put forward.

North Somerset Council appointed consultants Halcrow, at a cost of £11,000, to come up with the options.

The options put forward included removing the lights at the Cabstand/ Station Road junction and replacing them with a mini roundabout.

The alternative idea was to replace both the traffic light junctions at the High Street and Cabstand with roundabouts.

Almost 70 per cent of people who completed the options questionnaire said they favoured the two roundabout scheme.

The trial, which is subject to a safety audit, has been given the green light by North Somerset Council leader Nigel Ashton.

Mr Ashton said: "We have listened to local people and taken on board the overwhelming support of those who took part in the public consultation for the two roundabout scheme."

During the trial, the existing traffic lights at Cabstand will be converted into a pelican crossing and he traffic lights at the top of High Street by the White Lion pub will be covered over.

Mr Ashton said: "What we don't want is to rip everything out, find it isn't working the way residents hoped and then have the expense of putting the traffic lights back again.

"With the dark, winter mornings and nights just around the corner, now is not the ideal time to be carrying out such a trial, so it will probably start in the spring."

Details of the scheme will now be finalised before the council's executive is formally asked to agree to it going ahead.

The Cabstand lights, installed in 2004 at a cost of £800,000, caused tailbacks in the High Street. and traffic chaos in surrounding streets.

A campaign was launched by resident-turned-councillor David Jolley who organised a protest march through Portishead and a petition to have the lights removed. He said he was delighted about the proposed trial.