STREET lights are being reinstated in a dark stretch of a busy road following a long safety campaign.

Concerned residents in the Consett area argued that the removal of lighting made the A692 dangerous after dark.

Durham County Council removed the lights two years ago as a money-saving measure.

Now Project Genesis has begun installing lights on the former steelworks site so the footpaths and cycleway of the road can be illuminated.

Durham County Councillor Alex Watson, who is also a trustee of Project Genesis, said: “It is pitch dark and people are frightened to walk down there.

“Some people are even too frightened to drive. It is a worry for people.”

The £58,000 scheme between The Groves and Starbucks is expected to be completed in the New Year.

John Hinds, secretary of The Grove Community and Residents’ Association, wrote to Pat Glass, MP for North-West Durham, Durham’s Police and Crime Commissioner Ron Hogg and Durham Constabulary Chief Constable Mike Barton to raise awareness of the issue as part of the campaign.

He said: “Our residents are very pleased to see new lights being installed and it will obviously make the route from The Grove to Consett much safer, not only for pedestrians and cyclists and our children going to school, but also for motorists too as previously they could not see pedestrians and cyclists in night-time hours either riding or walking on this route.”

Pat Glass said she delighted a solution had been found.

She said: “It always inconceivable to me that Durham County Council would first remove home to school transport and then go on to remove the lighting along this very busy 50mph speed limit stretch of road that young people from Moorside and The Grove have to use to walk to and from school in the dark during the winter months.”

Brian Buckley, the council’s strategic highways manager, said the lights were removed as part of its, street lighting energy reduction project.

He added: “This is only done in areas where they are not required by British Standards and where it is safe to do so following a thorough risk assessment.

“No lights are being removed in residential areas, roundabouts, major junctions or where there are proven road safety and crime issues.”