COUNCIL leader Martin Hunt has rubbished Essex County Council plans to keep streetlights on for an extra hour in the evening. 

Martin Hunt, Lib Dem leader of Colchester Council, has called for the lights to be switched back on since Nick Sherwood, 25, was hit and killed by a car in St Andrew’s Avenue, Colchester, last month.

He was instrumental in Colchester Council’s cabinet setting aside £185,000 to have the borough’s lights turned back on.

He said: “It does not solve my problem. What I was concerned about was Mr Sherwood, who was killed at 3.30am.”

Mr Hunt also said the move would make very little difference as the summer approaches and the sun rises very early in the morning.

He said: “You would not need lights on at 5am because it is light then. We’re really only talking about 1am to 4am when the streetlights won’t be on when they are needed.”

Will Quince, the Conservative’s Parliamentary candidate for Colchester, said he had hoped Mr Bass would push the scheme back to 2am – at least on weekends – but called it a “step in the right direction”.

Julie Young, Labour group leader on Essex County Council, said: “We are giving it a cautious welcome, but we will still continue to campaign for lights to be on throughout the night.”

Tendring Council has also set aside money to have the district’s lights turned back on.

Maureen Smith, who had led a lights-on campaign in Clacton, said: “It’s not going to help very much. If they are doing it for one hour, they might as well do it for five.

“People were over the moon at Christmas and NewYear when the lights were left on.”