WITH the winter equinox fast approaching, Swindon residents struggled to comply with lighting regulations during the long, 15-hour blackout period.

Among those who appeared before Swindon magistrates this week was Mrs Maud Hutton of the Bell Hotel, High Street.

Special Constable Pearce told the court that a light was showing from five windows at 6.30 pm, nearly an hour after blackout time.

No black out material was up at four of the windows and from the other a slit of light could be seen down the side.

Mrs Hutton said that she was having a rest and that a maid who had been told to black out, had forgotten to do so. She was fined £1.

And at 49 Vicarage Road, Swindon a dog was blamed for causing a black out offence.

Summoned for displaying a light through an opened door, Mrs Taylor said that she had pulled the door shut behind her when she went out to her garden shed, but had failed to latch it.

The dog must have pushed it open, she said. A fine of 7s 6d was imposed.

“The blackout reaches its peak this week, and afterwards will get gradually shorter,” reported the Advertiser.

From December 9-16 sunset was at 4.49 pm and black out started at 5.19 pm. But while the sunset a few minutes later each day, sunrise continued to get a minute later until January 4. The ‘shortest’ day was December 21.

And following a notice issued by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Swindon church lights were to be dimmed.

“Except where all the windows of a church are so completely darkened that no light is visible from the outside the only permissible lights will be a minimum of light at or on the Holy Table, sufficient to enable the celebrant to read the service,” read the report.

“In the body of the church only a few covered or dimmed lights sufficient to enable the congregation to move to and from their places.”