LIVID councillors and residents in Wickford believe County Hall officials will be making the “biggest mistake of their lives” if they plough on with plans to turn the town’s lights off.

The Wickford community is the latest to express its disgust at the county council’s plans for the big turn-off, which has now beeen put back a week to Monday, November 25.

Nigel Le Gresley, Ukip county councillor for Wickford Crouch, fears trouble and accidents and wants county hall to rethink allowing darkness to descend on the town’s busy roads like Market Road, Silva Island Way, and Lower Southend Road.

A campaign group is also concerned the majority of lights in Shotgate will be switched off from midnight to 5am, and have urged transport bosses to reconsider.

They claim the cost-saving scheme – which will save about £220,000 a year in Basildon – could see fear and trouble return to Wickford’s streets.

Mr Le Gresley said: “This will be the biggest mistake of these county councillors’ lives if this goes through.

“They need to go into a dark room and think about it.

“I am dead against this European Union-inspired idea to put us back into the dark ages, but have to do the best I can with the process put in place by the Tory administration in County Hall.”

Aside from the town’s main roundabouts and areas in the town centre, lamps will be turned off in most of the suburbs of Wickford.

Shotgate is one area that will be sparsely illuminated.

David Harrison, from the Wickford Action Group, said: “Shotgate looks like it will be a complete blackout apart from the footpath around the park.

“It’s basically saying to muggers that they can mug people anywhere in Shotgate except the park. We completely opposed the idea but it fell on deaf ears.”