Residents are'˜frightened' bylights switch off

Parish councillors were told Lincolnshire County Council has switched off some lights in the Viking Estate area of the village as part of money-saving plans.

But speaking at the monthly meeting of the parish council Coun Shirley Williams said she had been contacted by a resident who was ‘frightened’ because the lack of lighting meant it was pitch dark when she returned home from working shifts.

Coun Marcus Williams told the meeting that nurses working for a cancer charity had struggled to find the homes of patients in the pitch dark.

He added: “We are talking about really serious safety issues. What would happen if a patient died because a nurse could not get to them in time?”

Chairman Coun David Clarke said there were a ‘number of issues’ and it was agreed the parish council should write to County Hall to try and resolve them.

The County Council has previously stressed that lights would only be switched off at specified times - and not at all when there were issues of safety.

The ‘switch off’ is a county-wide initiative and will affect most areas - including Horncastle.

Meanwhile, parish councillors agreed to continue with plans which could see a CCTV system introduced in the village.