NEW street lights are being installed in South Craven as part of a county-wide programme.

Ten thousand lights have already been replaced with more-efficient LED lamps across North Yorkshire as part of the three-year upgrade, which began last October.

It is hoped to have 25,500 new lights installed by next April.

The county council says the initiative has so far resulted in a CO2 reduction of nearly 1,000 tonnes, plus has made savings due to lower running costs.

County Councillor Don Mackenzie, executive member for highways, said: “We are ahead of schedule with the installation of the new lanterns and are well on the way to reaping the financial and environmental benefits that this significant investment will bring.

“It is essential that we spend money on modernising our street lights to guard against rising energy prices and spiralling maintenance costs. The new lights are predicted to reduce running costs by 40 per cent.

“Our street lighting engineers have had some very positive comments from residents about the new lights when they have been carrying out the work.”