RUNNERS have been left in the dark after the council switched off street lights across the town.

Swindon Council switched off the lights in Roundhills Mead, in Highworth, in July in a bid to save money.

But members of the Highworth Running Club have appealed to the Highworth Town Council for them to ask request that the lights are turned back on, saying that it was dangerous for them to run in the dark.

With the nights drawing in many of the runners will be finding themselves pounding the streets in the dark, and even wearing high visibility clothing is not enough for them to be seen easily by motorists without the street lights.

Chairman of the Highworth Running Club, Mike Rendall, said: “The turning off of street lights is a concern for us.

“Many of our members use the route as part of their winter training – it’s quite difficult to get a decent route around Highworth during the dark winter evenings.

“There is a particular issue around our regular Wednesday evening club meetings, where up to 40 members often use the route from the Vorda Playgroup where we meet, down Haresfield towards the Lechlade Road roundabout.

“The council has switched off some long and particularly dangerous sections of lighting, specifically around the first corner at the bottom of the hill.

“Their response seems to be that they have left the lighting on around key road junctions, but they have singularly failed to consult Highworth Town Council or local residents about this.

“It wouldn't be so bad if they had turned off alternate lights or maybe switched off the lights from say 9pm or 10pm at night.

“Surely they should also be interested in promoting exercise and health in the community.

“I support energy savings as part of an overall cost reduction plan, but with prior consultation.”

Stretches of some of the town’s busiest roads were plunged into darkness for a year in July in a bid to save cash.

A total of 433 street lights along some major roads were switched off in an attempt to save Swindon Council £20,000 in its budget black hole.

But the council has been keen to stress that none of the lights are on roads where there is a pedestrian footpath or cycle path, and none are on urban roads with a speed limit of less than 40mph.

A council spokesman said: “We consulted with local ward councillors before switching off the lights, and there was a lot of publicity about the trial generally before it began.

“We would stress that it is a trial, and after a year we will review the decision.

“We appreciate this is inconvenient to the running club, but in order to make the results of the trial worthwhile, the lights need to be off for the full twelve months.

“We were careful in deciding which ones to switch off, and none are on roads with footpaths, cycleways or speed limits at or below 30mph.”