RESIDENTS on a new estate claim they have been left in the dark for nearly a year because street lights have not been illuminated.

They fear they are at risk of burglary because the entrance area to the Burwood Heights estate, off Hill End Lane, Queensbury, is plunged into darkness when the sun goes down.

Residents first complained about the situation in November last year. Then, a spokesman for the house builders, Leeds-based Harron Homes said it hoped that nine street lights, which should have been illuminated, "will be up and running by next Thursday."

But this week, householders contacted the Telegraph & Argus to say that even fewer lights were now on.

One, who did not want to be identified, said: "The situation hasn't changed. In fact, it has got worse. When you go into the estate from Long Lane there are only two working lights out of 12.

"It is an absolute joke. We have now been here for two years and we still have no street lighting. We are all concerned because the dark nights are drawing in.

"The builders are showing no responsibility for doing anything about the situation."

Local Conservative councillor Michael Walls has taken up the residents' case for the second time in a year.

Cllr Walls said: “I was contacted about the situation by a resident a fortnight ago and emailed the builders to point out there were problems again. I am waiting to hear back from them.

"The resident said there were still no lights and that had been the case for a while. Now the nights are getting darker, they are concerned about being burgled. I think there has been the odd burglary around there. A big estate in darkness is just asking for it.

"I will get on to them again and ask them what is being done. It is astonishing that a year on they are still without lights."

A spokesman for Harron Homes said: "We have been trying to get to the bottom of which lights are causing the issues. We are trying our best to get it sorted."

The spokesman said she had not been at the company a year ago but had contacted the light installers and was doing her best to sort out the situation.

She added: "I appreciate and understand the concerns of the residents. The lighting problem affects the entrance to the estate, not the whole development."