RAILTRACK engineers shut Kingsferry Bridge betwen Sheppey and Sittingbourne yesterday to repair a fault which had been causing hours of traffic chaos.

The lifting bridge, Sheppey's only road link to mainland Kent, was closed between 1am and 5am so that experts could find the fault in an electrical circuit.

The work came after the bridge jammed in the raised position on three occasions over six days.

A Railtrack spokeswoman said the fault probably meant that a wire was becoming disconnected, but it was not showing up on electrical displays.

She added: "We are limited in the number of times we can close the bridge because of traffic and it appeared to failing in the rush-hour. It could have been that traffic vibrations were working the wire loose.

"Instead of trying to work on it when there was a low tide, which meant just a couple of hours at a time, it was decided to close the bridge early on Monday morning when the tides were working right."

Sheppey's MP Derek Wyatt is pressing for the Highways Agency and Railtrack to pay for modern display boards at nearby Cowstead Corner and on the Iwade side of the bridge. Lifting times could be displayed in advance and also broadcast with radio traffic news.

The latest problems with the bridge followed traffic delays last month when overnight repairs to its roadway were alllowed to run over on two days, affecting the morning rush-hour.