RESIDENTS are calling for council officials to do more to tackle antisocial behaviour at a “dangerous” underpass which leaves pedestrians scrambling in the dark.

William and Maureen Budnar, of St Leonards Farm Park, have been chasing representatives of East Dorset District Council and Dorset County Council for months trying to get graffiti removed from the walls and the broken bulbs of strip lighting replaced.

The pensioners say that on a couple of occasions the graffiti has been removed but claim that maintenance workers now refuse to do any more work as the walls just get re-painted over.

Only three of the 15 strip lights in the underpass - mostly used by pensioners and local school children - are currently working which makes the subway particularly dark.

Mrs Budnar, 78, only realised she was stepping on broken bottles when she heard the crunch underfoot after returning from the shops, she said. “It’s disgusting,” she added. “One day they are going to find something really nasty down there.”

Mr Budnar told the Daily Echo he’d “been beaten” by the councils because they had failed to act despite his numerous calls and letters.

“It is very dark and too frightening to elderly residents who live here who frequently used to use it to go to the local shops in Pinehurst Road,” he said.

“We all fear it is an accident waiting to happen.”

There are more than 100 homes at St Leonards Farm Park, located just off the A31, housing residents aged 55 and over.

A spokesman for Highways England said: “Any offensive graffiti we find is removed within 24 hours.

“Anything else we are made aware of is removed when the maintenance team is scheduled to attend.”

The spokesman said that maintenance engineers visited the site on Wednesday of last week and found no offensive graffiti.

The lights are due to be fixed soon, the spokesman added.