LONG queues formed in Poole town centre this afternoon due to a problem with the level crossing.

The crossing in the High Street was reportedly down for around two hours, allowing trains to pass but blocking pedestrians, causing queues in both directions.

Hamworthy resident Ken Johnson said the crossing had been closed after he complained about a loose cable which struck him as the barriers came down earlier this afternoon, at around 1pm.

The 45-year-old said he had been told to wait half an hour for engineers to arrive, but they had not done so.

“There is a big black cable which connects to the pulley, it has clearly come out some time ago,” he said.

“When the barrier lowers it goes out of control. It hit me. I wasn’t injured and was able to grab it, but what if it was an elderly person.

“They said I would have to wait 30 minutes but it has been 50 minutes now.”

At 2.50pm a Network Rail spokesman said: "Owing to a fault with one of the level crossing barriers, the level crossing barriers are currently closed.

"One of our response team is due to arrive shortly and we’ll be looking to safely re-open the crossing as soon as possible.

"In the meantime, we thank everyone for their patience while we deal with the incident."

The problem was resolved at 3.10pm.