A grandmother from a Newport suburb, who struggled to help her father after an accident said the lack streetlighting between midnight and 6am is making the streets more dangerous.

Kerry Seal, 56, a resident from Gaer said the streetlights being off made caring for her father more difficult after he had a fall. She also said it is now harder to help care for her grandchildren.

"I had a call from my father who had a fall in his home. It's dangerous out there without the lights. My father is a pensioner and he cannot walk very much."

"Something bad will happen," said Ms Seal, who lives on Maugham Close, off Shakespeare Crescent. Ms Seal confirmed her father recovered from the incident. 

In December 2023, Newport Council said it would continue its policy of switching street lightings off in the hours when street use is "lower".

The 'part-night lighting scheme' policy was put in place to save energy, money and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Ms Seal said the wing mirrors of her car have been knocked off and the windscreen of her daughter's car has been smashed.

Her daughter lives close by and she is often helps her out by caring for her grandchildren. However, returning back to her own home after the lights have been turned off at midnight can be dangerous. 

"It's completely black like pitch black. It's hard caring for the grandchildren and helping my daughter," said Ms Seal.

Ms Seal said the whole area is affected and that the community "have made numerous complaints but nothing gets done about it".

Newport council said the policy "was consulted on as part of the budget consultation, where over 60% of people who responded to the streetlight question supported the move".

Although, the streetlighting in Gear is off due to the 'part-night lighting scheme' there was an incident recently where a street light was broken and repairs are currently underway.

A National Grid Electricity Distribution spokesperson said: “Our engineers have been out to investigate a faulty street light in Newport following a report from the local council.

"They are planning to repair the fault in the next seven days so that we can continue to provide and a safe and reliable electricity supply.”