A YOUNG woman was injured when her car hit a traffic light and blocked part of a major road in York during the morning rush hour.

The woman's Renault Clio almost knocked the traffic light flat on to the ground, at the junction of Barbican Road and Lawrence Street, by Walmgate Bar, at about 8am yesterday.

The woman -who is in her 20s - was driving her car from Lawrence Street when it veered off the road and smash into the light.

The impact of the crash triggered the driver's airbag and the woman was taken to York Hospital with minor injuries.

Barbican Road traffic queuing to either access Foss Islands Road or Lawrence Street was forced to travel in the right-hand lane only as the Clio blocked the left-hand side of the junction.

Sergeant Dave Hopper, of York Police, said the exact cause of the collision - in which no other vehicles were involved - was yet to be established, but said mechanical failure in the car was the likely cause.

A spokeswoman for Yorkshire Ambulance Service said it had transported a female patient in her 20s to York Hospital.

Martyn Miller, 40, who was on his way to work on his bicycle when he came across the accident, said the junction was turning into a "proper black spot".

Mr Miller, of Huntington, said: "I've been a mountain biker for 20 years and I won't ride through this junction. I've seen a lot of accidents here."

He said that before the junction was changed to allow two-way traffic to cross from Walmgate Bar to Lawrence Street, cyclists were rarely knocked over, but said the crossing was now "absolutely horrendous".

A recovery vehicle towed away the Clio at about 9am yesterday.

A City of York Council spokesperson said: "We can confirm that a car hit a secondary signal pole this morning, leaving it bent. Although there was initially some congestion, the traffic signals are working as normal. We will be replacing the bent pole."

The notorious junction has been the scene of a number of accidents, including a crash involving a fire engine and a van, in April last year.

The van rolled on to its side but the driver was uninjured.