Residents on a Whitchurch road are pleading with council officials to restore street lighting so they can once again feel safe in their homes.

Street lighting in Wayland Road, which is off Station Road, is switched off between midnight and 5.30am, but residents say there has been a spate of robberies in cars and sheds.

Daniel Speed, of Wayland Road, puts this down to the lack of street lights in the road and insist residents are no longer feeling safe in their own homes, which he believes should not be happening, and wants Shropshire Council to re-consider the policy.

"For a couple of months, since the street lights started going out, we've had a number of sheds and vehicles broken into it," he said.

"A lot of the residents actually feel scared at night and no-one should feel scared in their own homes. I've spoken to quite a few and they're all of the same opinion; they're intimidated in their own home.

"That should be your place of safety. They can't look out of their own window and see their car because it's that dark as it's pitch black with no lighting, so they can't even see their cars if they're getting broken into.

"A few of us have it on CCTV of lads coming down the road trying every door handle, and further past our house, they get into a car. I showed the owner the CCTV and he explained that he couldn't lock it so he emptied it.

"It could have been a mistake from anyone and their whole car's contents could have been robbed.

"Now, a threat to someone's person is an accident waiting to happen. I've asked residents if they would step out of their front door after dark and they all said no. You can't see anything unless you have a torch.

"People are that scared to leave their house all because the council feels they are saving a few quid in switching the lights off. We don't feel the council are taking seriously the fact people are in fear.

"I've contacted the council but haven't got anywhere with them. I've asked about just putting one or two in there so people have some reassurance, but there was no interest.

"We need help – that's why we're putting it out there. We want people to know what's happening – that 80 per cent of the road are scared.

"Our road runs from the station to another estate in Edward German Drive which has had trouble. There's access to a lot of areas from the station and you don't know which way to look.

"You won't see anyone in dark clothing; one resident had tools stolen from his van and he couldn't work for weeks. His CCTV didn't pick up the person who stole from the van because it was too dark and the police couldn't make enquiries.

"You shouldn't have to pay more for your safety – the top people at the council don't have to worry about these situations as they probably have gates, but there's people who work all hours to just pay their bills but we can't pay more to be safe."

Shropshire Council say the street lighting can be turned on, but only if crime has increased in the area.

A spokesperson said: "Wayland Road is included in Shropshire Council’s part-night lighting scheme, whereby street lights are switched off between midnight and 5.30am.

West Mercia Police, through the Bronze Level Tasking Group (BLTG) covering the north of the county, can request that lights be turned back on between these times if they can demonstrate that there has been a significant increase in crime due to the introduction of part-night lighting.

Where concerns of crime have been raised in particular areas these are passed to the BLTG to review."

For more, head to https://shropshire.gov.uk/street-care-and-cleaning/streetlights/part-night-lighting/"