A CAMPAIGNER blasted Torfaen council chiefs yesterday after they rejected a plea to turn street lights back on, signed by nearly 1,400 residents.

Ray Watkins called on Torfaen council to turn on about 6,700 lights – nearly half of the total – to protect the public against potential crime and accidents.

He argued that many elderly people were now too scared to go out at night because of the partial blackout.

Mr Watkins presented a petition signed by 1,377 people to the council last month.

But he reacted angrily to the news that his request had been turned down.

Mr Watkins, 42, of Blenheim Court, Cwmbran, who is associated with the area’s environmental awareness group, said: “That just proves to the general population of Torfaen how they actually care about residents. I’m disgusted with them.”

The council decommissioned more than 2,100 lights permanently, and about 4,500 from 12.30am to 5.30am, between 2009 and 2010.

The decision to turn off the overhead lights, combined with the use of new technologies, slashed the council’s street lighting budget by nearly half.

Council chiefs maintained the partial blackout had not had any “direct impact on overall crime levels in Torfaen.”

In a new street lighting report, Torfaen Council said it adopted a “risk-based approach” including accident statistics, locations of schools, shopping facilities and traffic calming measures as part of the decommissioning process.

The council stressed that it did not have a “statutory duty” to light highways, adding that other councils had also decommissioned lights to save cash.

A council report on the petition stated: “The decommissioning process along with the use of new technologies has enabled the authority to reduce its energy consumption and budget by approximately 45 per cent related to the provision of street lighting.

“Police analysis confirmed that there is no direct evidence that the change in approach to street lights has had any direct impact upon overall crime levels in Torfaen.

“The chief officer of planning and public protection and neighbourhood services appreciates the concerns raised, however given the information provided above, lights currently decommissioned across the county borough are to remain switched off.”

Torfaen council is to discuss the petition at a full council meeting on April 14.