A259 Exceat Bridge traffic lights shot at and set alight

The vandalism is "jeopardising the future" of the temporary traffic lights at Exceat Bridge, near Seaford, which were put in place to ease congestion at the bottleneck.

In recent weeks, batteries have been stolen from the equipment and the lights have been damaged with air gun pellets.

On Monday, February 20, one of the lights was set alight, with the other thrown into a hedge. The nearby signs were thrown into the Cuckmere River.

The Bridge is between Seaford and Eastbourne (Image: The Argus)

This comes amid a row over the future of the Exceat bridge. It forms part of the key coastal route between Eastbourne and Seaford, however traffic is often held near the river crossing.

Multimillion-pound plans to improve the bridge, which is currently single lane, were approved by South Downs National Park.

It will be replaced with a new two-way, two-lane bridge with a footpath, including re-profiling of the river and road embankments.

However, campaign group Transport Futures East Sussex has said a new £8 million bridge on the A259 is “unnecessary” and call for the lights to remain instead.

Read more: New £1.8m boost for electric vehicle charging points expansion​

Karl Taylor, assistant director of highways operations, said: “These lights have had a positive impact on the bottleneck at Exceat while we work on plans for a replacement, two-lane bridge.

“But, with the equipment consistently coming under attack, we may be forced to remove the lights altogether or use taxpayers’ money to employ security guards to protect them.”

The vandalism was reported to Sussex Police, and anyone with information is encouraged to contact the force.