Ref. 72612-29 Advertiser reporter Diana Milne under a street light in Eastcott Hill which keeps going on and offENGINEERS stepped in to try and relight fuse-blown street lights after women said they were scared to walk in the darkness near a murder scene.

Council workers have been trying to solve the problem affecting nine lampposts after the women said they were frightened while the killer of father-of-two Mick Love remains on the loose.

The lights, close together in Eastcott Hill and in Stafford Street, were first reported defective last Thursday, according to Swindon Council.

The authority tried ever more powerful fuses, which kept blowing, and has now called in Southern Electric because a supply fault is suspected.

The site is not far from Cannon Street, where Mr Love, 40, was murdered 11 days ago.

Women living in the affected areas told the Evening Advertiser that they were scared to walk in the darkened area, but none wished to be named. One said: "Considering the council tax goes up by so much every year, I think it's disgraceful that the facilities are so poor.

"The other night I heard a man and a woman arguing outside.

"The man seemed to be threatening the woman for a time but I couldn't see what was happening because it was too dark. What if he had attacked her?"

Another woman, who lives in Stafford Street said: "I walked home late from work one night and it was a very scary experience, bearing in mind recent tragic events in Cannon Street.

"I was a bit unnerved because there were stretches of the street which were almost pitch black and I could not see people approaching me until they were right in front of me."

Swindon Council, which is responsible for maintaining and repairing the lights but not the electricity supply, says the first complaint about the defective ones was received late last week.

Spokesman Gavin Calthrop said: "A report of problems with the street lights in Eastcott Hill and Stafford Street was received last Thursday and the council immediately inspected and replaced a fuse in the control panel.

"When the problem recurred, further work was carried out on Friday.

"The problem has persisted and this indicates a more serious problem with the electricity supply.

"An 80-watt fuse, the most robust one available, was installed on Tuesday.

"This failed, which confirms that there is a supply problem."

Mr Calthrop stressed the council did everything it could to ensure the safety of the public.

He added that the lights would be kept on at lower power until the supply problem could be solved.

Southern Electric spokeswoman Susan Scobie said the lights would be repaired as soon as possible.

Barrie Hudson