A PETITION has been launched to reinstate the original hours of street lighting in Northallerton – with many people signing it saying they now feel less safe.

Changes to street lighting in North Yorkshire began to be implemented a couple of years ago in a bid to cut the county council’s £2.1m annual energy bill for street lighting. The initiative is anticipated to save almost £400,000 a year and reduce the carbon tax it pays to the government by 28 per cent.

Part-time lighting, where a portion of street lights are switched off between midnight and 5am was introduced in Northallerton and Hambleton last year. But now about 500 people have signed a petition to bring back the original lighting in the town.

The petition claims that crime has increased since some street lights were turned off in Northallerton, particularly as there have been a couple of violent assaults in the town in recent weeks. But there is not believed to be a link between the recent attacks and street lighting.

County councillor Tony Hall said: “People who do have a veto on what happens with the street lights are the police. If they feel there’s an area that does have a problem then police ask that those lights remain on.

“The police have informed us that the recent violent crime is not linked to the part-night lighting.

“North Yorkshire is still one of the safest places in England to live. I understand if you have you have recently been attacked you would disagree with that – but we do still live in a safe area.”

But most people who left comments on the petition said they now felt unsafe on Northallerton’s dark roads.

One person who signed it wrote: “The combination of no street lighting and the awful pothole ridden roads make cycling extremely dangerous.

“The amount of violent crimes committed since the street lights have been turned off in the early hours speak volumes. I don't feel safe walking the streets any more and only do so because of the hours I work.”

Another wrote: “I’m a teenager and I have to walk home on a night, with the lights turned off its really dark and I do not feel safe at all, what has northallerton come too [sic]”

Another stated: “So worried about the increase in violent crime incidents in my home town and what has always been a safe environment. Scared of walking down the unlit streets in my area in these early dark winter nights.”

The e-petition can be found at petitions24.com/lets_have_the_street_lights_back_on_in_northallerton