Horncastle woman's '˜walk of fear'

A Horncastle woman says she ‘fears for her life’ whenever she walks to the town’s indoor swimming pool at night because footpath lights are not working.

The woman - who does not want to be named - claims lights on Coronation Walk have been faulty for several weeks.

She says she either has to walk on a busy roadway, or on a muddy footpath just feet away from the River Waring.

The woman revealed she has bought fluorescent clothing and a torch but admitted she still does not feel safe with cars ‘rushing by’ inches from where she is walking.

She said: “It’s really dangerous. It’s pitch dark and you fear for your life. Apart from the cars rushing by, there’s a worry someone could be lurking behind the trees. People might say get off the road and walk on the grass but it’s wet and muddy and the river is very close. I don’t feel safe at all. It’s been going on for weeks.

“It’s a disgrace nothing has been done. It’s like living in the Dark Ages.”

The lights on Coronation Walk are the responsibility of East Lindsey District Council. A spokesman said: “We had an issue last week with approximately five lights in the car park area which had tripped, but power was restored the next day.

“We’ve contacted the staff at the pool and they don’t recall there being any lights out along Coronation Walk.”

A reporter from the News visited Coronation Walk on Wednesday evening and discovered one footpath light was working, one wasn’t and a third briefly flickered on - and then went off again.

However, the ELDC spokesman said the authority had checked the lights the following evening and was 
adamant ‘they were on’.

They promised the council would monitor the situation.

Clerk Gillian Mauger said the town council was aware some of the lights were faulty and had reported the problem to ELDC.

She added the town council believed any repair work may have been delayed because ELDC planned to introduce new LED bulbs.

The town council was offered a chance by ELDC to take on responsibility for maintaining the lights some weeks ago but rejected the idea amid various concerns about the cost and liability issues.