Smart traffic lights that will always turn green are to be trialled on Britain’s roads, it has been announced by Highways England.

The new lights, which are designed to put an end to stop-go driving, will advise motorists of the speed they should drive at in order to arrive at the next set of lights when they turn green.

The concept is one of five shortlisted entries into a competition hosted by the National Roads Commission (NIC), Highways England and Innovate UK to create roads for driverless cars.

Discussing the goal of driverless vehicles, Sir John Armitt, NIC chairman, said: "We can see for ourselves the progress in developing cars for the future, with trials of driverless cars taking place across the country.

"We now need to make sure the technology on our roads keeps up."