Residents walking through Halstead late at night have spoken of their difficulties since a controversial street light scheme began.

An Essex County Council (ECC) scheme to turn off lights from midnight to 5am came into effect last Sunday.

The authority hopes to save more than £100,000 each year in Braintree district as a result of the switch-off.

Marie Nelson, 34, of Halstead, said: “I don't like it at all. I'm a home carer working evenings and it just makes it very difficult to see anything.

“It’s scary too as you never know who's lurking about.”

The overnight light switch-off started in Braintree and Chelmsford districts on Sunday, having been in force in Maldon and Uttlesford since 2007.

This week, ECC announced plans to roll the scheme out to the rest of the county by February next year.

But county hall bosses said they would consider altering the hours of part-night lighting once it has been introduced countywide.

An ECC spokesman said: “At present, there are no plans to alter the hours in any part of the county.

“Once the scheme has been rolled out countywide, this is something we could consider.”