Electricity engineers have been asked to investigate why dozens of street lights in Pewsey, in an area where a lot of elderly people live, have been out of action for weeks.

Wiltshire Council is responsible for street lighting but it said that as a large number of lights in Broadfields were out that indicated a power supply problem and it has asked Scottish and Southern Electricity to investigate the cause of the problem and repair it.

Wiltshire Council spokesman Allan Clarke said: “We are aware of the problem with the street lights here, however there is an issue with the supply which is the responsibility of the electricity board. They have been informed, and will repair it as soon as possible.”

Widow Margaret Burns, 79, who has recently had hip and knee surgery and suffered a heart attack, said she was frightened to go out after dark in case she fell and hurt herself.

The problem of having no street lights had been made worse since the weekend when the clocks went back making the evenings dark earlier, said Mrs Burns who has lived in Broadfields for 50 years.

She said: “For the last two weeks there have been no street lights in Broadfields from the Roman Catholic church right through to the school playing fields.

“I have phoned Clarence several times and I phoned them again this morning and I was told it could be as long as 30 days before the lights are repaired. That’s not good enough.

“We have a lot of old people living along this road and it is absolutely pitch black at night and it’s not safe to go out because you can’t see the kerb.”

Mrs Burns said she knew that a number of her neighbours had also phoned the Clarence highways helpline to complain.

Coun Jerry Kunkler, Pewsey’s Wiltshire Council member, said he had been made aware of the problem and was chasing it up.

Coun Kunkler said: “I gather that the lights are on at one end of the road and out at the other so it’s not just a question of fixing one or two lights.

“If it is an electricity supply problem that will take longer to repair although I am chasing it up to get the lights back on as soon as possible.”