Flamborough Head Lighthouse's switch to LED bulbs 'disappointing'

Before switching over to LEDs last year, Flamborough Head Lighthouse used the old Fresnel lens enclosure, a 19th Century invention that creates a far-reaching beam

A 19th Century lighthouse in East Yorkshire that has been modernised has left residents feeling "disappointed".

More than 750 people have signed a petition calling for Flamborough Head Lighthouse's sweeping light beam to be reinstated.

The lighthouse was updated in 2022 with the old filament light source replaced with LED.

Trinity House which runs the landmark said the old optic was "on display for all to enjoy".

Steve Emmerson, from Flamborough, said: "We've lost part of our heritage.

"It's just disappointing and sad to see the the old light disappear.

"The worst thing about it is that it's not a rotating light and you don't see the beam of light shining out far and going around, flashing towards you.

"All you're seeing now is just an LED flashing on and off.

"It's not as nice, as aesthetically looking as the old beam was - it was constantly on and used to be magnified through lenses that spun around on top of the lighthouse."

Steve Emmerson, Bridlington RNLI Coxswain, said the LED replacement "just don't look as distinctive and as natural as the old lighthouse did"

Petition organisers said the LED had cut "the visible range of the light from 24 nautical miles to 18", and described it as "a drastic change to an area of historic magnificence which has lost part of it's heart and soul".

Mr Emmerson, a RNLI Coxswain in Bridlington, said while the LED emitted an inferior light intensity to the previous Fresnel lens, its negative impact on seafarers was "negligible really".

"We need the lighthouse there but it's not as important as it used to be in today's era with modern navigation equipment. We still manage to do our navigation safely with the light still being present.

"But they just don't look as distinctive and as natural as the old lighthouse did."

"I'd like to see the lighthouse flashing as it used to. If it means with some new technology to make it cheaper to run then so be it."

A lighthouse was first built on Flamborough Headland in 1669 but was never lit.

The present one was built in 1806 and "acts as a waypoint for deep sea vessels and coastal traffic as well as marking the Flamborough Headland for vessels heading for the ports of Scarborough and Bridlington", Trinity House states on its website.