Night street lights reinstated to improve safety

Overnight street lighting is to be reintroduced to a town "in a commitment to improve community safety", a local authority said.

Basildon Council said it had begun reprogramming the lights on Monday and expected all of the town's lights to be operational by the end of the week.

Gavin Callaghan, the council's leader, said he hoped shift workers and everyone out in the town when it is dark would now feel safer.

Essex County Council switched street lighting off across the county between the midnight and 05:00 in 2014, but the times were later revised to 01:00 to 05:00.

Basildon Council turned the lights back on in 2019 for a four-year period - but that ended in 2023.

In June the authority agreed to spend £480,000 over four years to reintroduce overnight street lighting.

Callaghan said: "I'm pleased to confirm the deal with Essex County Council is now in place.

"So, if you're a shift worker and you're getting home late at night or leaving early in the morning or whatever your reasons are for being out and about throughout the evening, the street lights will be on, making our communities safer."