In a bid to save money, Dorset County Council has announced that almost 800 street lights in the town of Swanage will be turned off between midnight and 05:30 from next month.
It is hoped that the move will help the council to save £150,000 per year in energy consumption costs.
However, concerns have been voiced about the initiative, with opponents saying that it will lead to a rise in crime as more backstreets of the town will be plunged into darkness - a far more favourable ambiance for local troublemakers up to no good during the hours of darkness.
Despite the fact that officials said a connection between a street light switch-off and a rise in crime has proven unfounded, a similar move in Weymouth was reversed when lights in the Littlemoor area were switched back on after residents petitioned the council to go back on their decision.
According to a spokesman for the council: "While many residents support the scheme, some feared crime would rise but there is no evidence that this has happened," as the council plans to roll out a switch-off initiative across the rest of Dorset over the next year.
Some 200 lights will still remain turned on in Swanage along main roads, the seafront and roads with speed humps, as well as those lining the streets in the town centre.
Switching off lighting - especially outdoor wall lights - during the night can be a valuable way to save money as the only real motive to keep them turned on is for security reasons.
If you tend to leave porch lights on for this purpose - and find that energy bills are going through the roof with the rising cost of electricity - it may be worth considering installing motion sensor lighting. That way, should any movement be detected, a light will come on but at other times - when they are not needed - they will not be wasting any electricity.
