STREET lights in Wareham and Sandford will start to be switched off overnight as part of Dorset County Council's continuing cost-cutting measure, it has been announced.

Hundreds of street lights will eventually be switched off from around midnight to 5.30am GMT, or 1am until 6.30am BST, from the end of this month.

The changes will begin in Wareham and Sandford during April before continuing into the Lytchett Minster and Upton.

County Hall insists lights will only be turned off where there are “no significant concerns over road safety or crime.”

Around 600 street lights will remain lit throughout the night in both areas.

A Dorset County Council spokesman said: “It will take around four to six weeks to complete the changes, which involves changing the light sensor on each lamp to a special timed version.

“Part-night lighting has been rolled out across Dorset since 2011. It is now operating on residential streets in Dorchester, Weymouth, Portland, Christchurch, Blandford, Sherborne, Shaftesbury, Gillingham, Corfe Mullenm, Ferndown, West Moors and Swanage.

“While many residents supported the scheme, some feared crime would rise - but there is no evidence this has happened.”