Street lights in Chatteris are to be kept on to ensure the safety of its residents.

The decision comes after Cambridgeshire County Council said that unless Chatteris Town Council agreed to pay the costs – which are estimated at £12 per light – then just over 500 lights in the town would be turned off at midnight until 6am.

The part night lighting is part of a countywide scheme with the aim of saving the County Council money next year.

The plans do not include lights on the main route through town or Fenland District Council-owned lights.

Chatteris councillors were worried that turning off lights in many of the town’s streets and estates would lead to an increase in crime.

They also feared for the safety of residents returning home late at night and those who had to rise early to go to work.

Councillors were upset that the plan was to turn the lights off at midnight, despite the money which had been spent on replacing them.

They agreed that all the lights which were at danger of being turned off should be kept on.

In a letter to the County Council the Town Council made its dissatisfaction known but explained that after calculating the effect on the council tax bill for a Band D property, the majority of councillors voted in favour of adding the additional cost to the budget.