A St Albans man is asking for street lighting to be made brighter as he feels new LEDs are keeping people in the dark.

David Kaloczi has approached Herts County Council to highlight what he perceives as dimmer lights around the district.

David is concerned about badly-lit junctions at Lancaster Road and Battlefield Road, paths such as the one in Ladies Grove, and alleyways like Jennings Road. He is also worried about unlit directional signs across the district, including numerous no entry signs that he says are just not very visible.

He eventually went out with two Highways engineers earlier this month and said they agreed there is work outstanding.

David said: "I have been trying to get this sorted out for over six months. There has been a rise in street crime and of course in darker streets people are feeling less safe.

"The council have got not money and they keep pushing it back, I feel. They have made all these cost savings and it is putting people's safety in jeopardy. We are supposed to be encouraging people to get out and exercise and this is not helping that either.

"Anyone who has got a bush or a tree around the town needs to be thinking about cutting it back as it obscures the lighting."

David has become so worried about the issue that he has approached the AA about the wider issue of more dimly lit roads.

In a national survey of 17,000 AA members, one third said they feel less safe with new LED lights. In fact, 34 per cent of people asked said street lights in their local area had been dimmed or switched and 35 per cent said they felt less safe than with the older style street lighting.

A spokesperson for Herts County Council said: "We would like to reassure residents that prior to the installation of LEDs, site tests found that the level of lighting on both roads and pavements is no lower than it was before.

"The LED white light does provide a different look and feel than the conventional orange light that was previously used. However, LED lights are clearer to the eye and more directional, providing greater colour recognition, improving visibility for highway users on roads and pavements.

"If residents do have concerns about lighting please contact the council with specific details via our highway fault reporting service at www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/faultreporting."