75% of England Streetlights Dimmed or Turned Off at Night to Save Money

Large areas of England are "plunged into darkness" as 75 percent of regional councils were dimming or turning off streetlights at night to save money, potentially making the streets more dangerous, according to Labour Party research.

MOSCOW, December 22 (Sputnik) – The research by the opposition party of the UK parliament cited by the Guardian Monday found that 50 out of 141 councils responding to the survey were switching off some streetlights, 56 councils were dimming some lights, 42 were doing both and 35 were doing neither.

According to the research, the number of lights dimmed or switched off increased from 148,000 in May 2010 to 1.36 million currently.

"Our research shows, however, that significant areas of Britain have been plunged into darkness since May 2010 as a result of David Cameron [the Prime Minister of the UK] and Eric Pickles' [Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government] policies," Hilary Benn, the Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, said, as quoted by the Guardian.

Eric Pickles stated earlier this year that he loved having the streetlights off at night, because it was saving a "phenomenal amount" of money, decreasing crime, making it easier to see the night sky and therefore easier to sleep, according to the Guardian.