A TEST vandal proof light with a plastic sleeve has been installed at the entrance of Beech Wood, in Barmpton Lane. All of the previous lights are damaged, and the bulbs removed by the council to prevent injury to people using the wood as a thoroughfare. If there is no damage during the trial period, the wood will be lit up at night in future.

A spokesperson for the council said: “We can’t afford to put them all in, in case they get damaged. Hopefully this is a more vandal resistant design.” Alcohol and gangs have proved a bad combination for Beech Wood. Recently it has been very quiet.

Tom Russell, Street Lighting Team said: “I did some work on the cover sleeve with Prototype Design and Manufacturing Solutions, a company based at Bishop Middleham, County Durham. We looked at many ideas, samples and potential solutions. We finally came up with a heavy duty plastic sleeve that lets all the light through but has tamper proof screws. The lighting is low level; we will leave it in the ground a few weeks and see how it goes.”

Michael Bourner of P.D.M. said: “The plastic prototype is preferred to a metal cover which detracts from the appearance of the light column. We have come up with a vandal proof structure. The plastic is the same as that used in bus shelter windows. We aimed for a low cost solution, with a repeatable design. There are quite a few processes involved in the making of it.”

Not everyone approves of Beech Wood being lit up at night. It is an ancient wood, with many insect and bird inhabitants. It is hoped that the lights will make the wood safer for its community of users.