AN ATTEMPT to tone down bright floodlights in a St Albans car park has failed to appease at least one local resident. Within a year of installing new floodlights in their London Road car park, the district council has attached metal shields to the light

AN ATTEMPT to tone down bright floodlights in a St Albans car park has failed to appease at least one local resident.

Within a year of installing new floodlights in their London Road car park, the district council has attached metal shields to the lights in order to reduce their intensity for people living in nearby houses. Parking contract manager Steve Deakins said: "We installed the lights to improve the safety of the area but because they have proved to be too bright for some people who live near the car park, we have had to tone them down."

But some St Albans residents are still not satisfied with the floodlights. Peter Wares of Ramsbury Road described the lights as "over the top" and claimed that they were still too bright.

He added: "The floodlights are a gross waste of energy and it only adds to the size of the district council's carbon footprint. They're supposed to be saving energy as part of their St Albans Values Energy (SAVE) campaign, launched last July."

Mr Deakin maintained that the lights were energy-efficient and added: "Our floodlights are photosensitive, which means that they only turn on when darkness starts to fall. They also operate on low-energy light bulbs.