Proposals by cash-strapped Shropshire Council to switch off street lights to save money could lead to more accidents and crime, it was claimed today.

Council leaders will decide next week whether they will go ahead with plans to switch off thousands of street lights with trials in Ellesmere, Church Stretton and Cleobury Mortimer.

The council claims the move to switch off or dim lights so they use less energy at certain times, such as in the early hours, could save hundreds of thousands of pounds.

But AA president Edmund King said: “There is a fear that in some areas these switch-offs could lead to more crashes and crime.

“Lighting can improve safety for drivers, riders, and pedestrians and deter street crime.

“The public are in favour of street lighting as a way of improving road safety.

“Cyclists and pedestrians are more at risk on unlit streets.

Study

“Local authorities should consider more environmentally-friendly lighting, that can save them £46 a light, rather than putting us all in the dark.”

An AA study shows driving outside daylight hours is more dangerous.

Only a quarter of all travel by car drivers is between the hours of 7pm and 8am, yet this period accounts for 40 per cent of fatal and serious injuries.

Councillor Ann Hartley, the council’s cabinet member for energy and carbon reduction, is backing the trial.

She said: “It’s important that we trial this with parish and town councils because different areas will have different needs, and we need to consider the safety aspect of any changes.”

The move by Shropshire Council has been welcomed by environmental campaigners.

Andy Boddington, chairman of the Shropshire branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, said: “It is time to save money, save energy and open up the views of the night skies again.

“Experience elsewhere has shown that crime does not increase, and may even be reduced, if lights are turned out.”

The council is responsible for more than 15,600 lights. The cabinet will consider the plans on September 15.

By Suzanne Roberts