RISING bollards in Worcester city centre that have worked for only two days in eight years are to go live - again.

The company contracted by Worcestershire County Council to install the bollards in Angel Street carried out another series of tests and is confident they can be used as originally intended.

The bollards cost the taxpayer £40,000 and have refused to rise and lower over the years despite efforts by engineers to correct the problem.

ATG Access has since carried out more work on the site in the last few weeks and the council has cautiously welcomed the news the bollards will work properly this time.

A spokesman said: "It seems there was a 100 per cent success rate, according to the installation company, for all vehicles."

Drivers of taxis and private cars currently use the road normally to travel through the city, but once the bollards go live some time is the summer, only buses and emergency vehicles will be allowed to use Angel Street between 10.30am and 4.30pm.

They will have chips attached to trigger the bollards when they approach.

When the bollards went live last year they would only lower when a vehicle approached from St Nicholas Street, not Foregate Street.

ATG Access installed a second detector opposite McDonald's but it did not work due to a strong magnetic field in that part of the city centre. This has been dealt with, although ATG would not say how.

However, concerns have been raised by Worcester News readers who say they saw vans mounting curbs to get around the bollards when they were still being tested.

The county council spokesman said the council would work closely with the police if people were seen to be flouting the law.

He also said the county council would consider its options should the bollards still not work properly.