Calne postman Clive Wilkins is still in the dark as to why 20 street lights outside his home in The Wynd have not been fixed since they went out five weeks ago.

Mr Wilkins, who has reported the problem to Wiltshire Council, says the fault means the street is left pitch black at night.

This is the second time the street has been left without lights this year and Mr Wilkins is worried the fault is making it tricky for elderly residents to get about.

He said: “We have old people in the street who don’t go out at night anymore.

“There are only two houses that have outside lights and that’s the only light that we have got.

“I’ve even been to the police because a couple of Sundays ago we were woken up because someone had taken a wheelie bin and set it on fire in the street.

“When you have got 12 street lights out, that’s a big dark area and it’s open to people being able to get up to mischief.”

The problem started when a skip lorry hit an electrical feeder box on the street at the start of July, causing the lights to flicker out.

They were fixed and came on briefly at the start of September, but on November 16 they stopped working.

Mr Wilkins, who has lived in The Wynd for 22 years, said several other streets had also been left partially lit, including Stokes Croft, Bishop Road and Dixon Way.

He said: “It doesn’t just concern The Wynd. It concerns four streets because it’s a circuit that runs round The Wynd. You’re talking about 50 residents at least that are being affected.”

Deputy mayor and town councillor Heather Canfer has also tried ringing Wiltshire Council to get the problem fixed.

She said: “I have rung them three times and I’m getting nowhere. This is beyond a joke.”

A Wiltshire Council spokesman said: “There was a fault with these lights earlier this year when an electrical supply pillar was damaged in an accident, and it appears there is still an electricity supply issue.

“We have received reports that these lights are not working and have passed all the details onto Scottish and Southern Energy which has 20 working days to deal with supply fault.

“We will be monitoring this closely.”