Southampton City Council has confirmed why the barriers on the Itchen Bridge have been raised, allowing some people to pass the toll free of charge.

People from across Southampton were taking to social media to reveal their joy at the fact they’ve been able to drive over the Itchen Bridge without paying the £1 toll during quieter times of the day.

Residents have revealed the barriers have been raised in the early hours, between 1am and 4am, while others have said it has been much closer to the rush hour commute.

One Facebook user wrote: “Yesterday morning at 6.30am it was free to drive over the Itchen Bridge. I was shocked but I don’t know why.”

READ MORE: Itchen Bridge one of the highest-earning toll roads in the UK

Somebody else added: “They must do it free early in the morning and maybe at 7am it’s payment time? I’ve been going for free over to work.

Whilst another Facebook user said: “Fantastic, maybe the new early hours of work actually has a benefit.

“They probably feel sorry for us having to be awake so early.”

READ MORE: Itchen Bridge crash - Man fighting for life in hospital

However, Councillor Eamonn Keogh, cabinet member for environment for and transport has now confirmed the real reason - and it is not to do with feeling sorry for people having to go to work early.

The councillor said that technical issues has prompted the council to raise the bridge’s barriers to avoid cars becoming stuck behind the barriers with no way of calling for help.

In a statement, Cllr Keogh said: “We are experiencing some technical issues with the out-of-hours help system on the Itchen Bridge toll machines.

“When this has occurred, we have raised the barriers to avoid the potential situation where a vehicle could be stopped at the barrier and unable to ask for help. 

“We have been working with partners to resolve this issue and are testing a technical solution to ensure that the system works reliably.”

He added: “As a result, there may be times when we need to raise the barriers to ensure that motorists are not inconvenienced while we work to resolve this issue.”

However, Cllr Keogh did not reveal when the issue would be fixed.