A Chinese man has been detained by police for painting road markings onto a busy intersection in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu, in order to make his commute home quicker.

CCTV footage showed a man in a bright jacket painting several road markings as cars speed past or around him.

The man, surnamed Cai, explained that he did this in an effort to ease traffic problems at the junction, which he claimed can get congested.

"Everyday after work I take the bus and go past that junction. The traffic there is awful every day. I just thought I would add a straight-ahead arrow to the left hand turn lane," Mr Cai said.

The police said that they have now scrubbed off his markings and the junction once again looks as it did before this incident.

Reuters