STREET lights may be turned down or turned off in a bid to save hundreds of thousands of pounds a year.

The incongruous street light is now the focus of attention across the North-East and North Yorkshire as a way of slashing burgeoning energy bills and cutting carbon emissions.

North Yorkshire County Council spends £6.4m a year on electricity and is looking to claw back about £380,000 a year by rethinking the way its roads and streets are lit.

Durham County Council is already fitting dimmers to 12,000 street lights in a bid to cut its £3m a year energy bill. It estimates the move will eventually save taxpayers £100,000 a year once they have finished converting the lights in April.

North Yorkshire has yet to decide how to best to cut the amount it spends on street light but the options it is considering include; removing or disconnecting certain street lights, dimming them, using solar powered or LED lights, or switching them off for certain periods of the night.

Once the council has looked at issues surrounding street lighting such as road safety, public safety and crime rates, it will begin a lengthy consultation with other councils and the public.

North Yorkshire County Councillor Stuart Parsons, from Richmond, said the effectiveness of the proposal depended on getting feedback from residents.

He said: "I know there are areas where if they switch off the lights between midnight and 5am there shouldn’t be a problem. But of course I’m not aware of all that goes on in every street in the area.

"If the council consults on this the way they have promised to, then it should be a positive experience."

The move will also have a knock-on effect of cutting light pollution, enabling the night sky to viewed more clearly.

The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) has also been working with the Campaign for Dark Skies. Both bodies have jointly made their concerns about light pollution known to North Yorkshire County Council.

They say lighting shining out into the night sky can disturb people’s sleep, leading to health problems and create an orange smog that obscures the night sky.