The dual bridge system in Poole is frustrating early travellers who get delayed as barriers go down outside scheduled times.

Workers at Sunseeker are finding the early morning lifts can be as much as 10 minutes astray, leaving them fuming on the wrong side of Poole Bridge.

However, the £21.6million Twin Sails Bridge only opened to traffic on April 4, working in conjunction with the old Poole Bridge, and it is likely the opening times will be reviewed.

“A lot of Sunseeker employees are gonna be late,” FishEyedBoy told the Echo via Twitter.

“The lifting times should be stuck to during busy commute times.

“Pedestrians and cyclists are being delayed unnecessarily.”

Fellow Twitter user Garry added that the 7.45am Poole Bridge lift was up at 7.40am while the 6.45am lift also took place five minutes early.

Two days running FishEyed Boy noted that Poole Bridge was lifting early to let boats through – at least 10 minutes on one occasion.

The schedule of lifts allows the Twin Sails Bridge to open first to let boats travel from Holes Bay into the main harbour, followed by Poole Bridge.

The second bridge lifts as soon as the first reopens to road traffic but its times vary, depending on the volume of boats passing through and how long that takes.

Chris Francombe, transport policy manager for Borough of Poole, said: “Now that Twin Sails Bridge is open, at least one bridge is always available for road users.

“Excepting emergencies, all bridge lifts are scheduled, allowing the movement of traffic around the town to become much easier. Precise times for the first bridge lift can be given.

“However, the second bridge lift time is approximate as it depends on the number of boats needing to pass through the bridge.

“We are continuing to monitor the impact the two-bridge system has on both the maritime community and traffic flow across the Back Water Channel,” he added.