British high streets facing Christmas lights blackout thanks to health and safety

Health and safety killjoys are threatening Britain with a Christmas blackout, council bosses warned yesterday.

Crippling insurance costs and absurd safety requirements mean many local authorities have abandoned their traditional lighting displays.

Insurers insist on strict adherence to health and safety guidelines, which require councils to use expensive specialist equipment to put up lights and test the security of fittings.

A string of requirements has pushed the cost of even a modest festive display up to £25,000.

They state that hydraulic platforms must be hired for putting up lights, as ladders are deemed too dangerous.

Every surface to which a light is attached must undergo a rigorous 'pull-test' to make sure it is strong enough to hold a cable.

Many councils have also been ordered to use a pressure gauge to test every bolt which holds a cable or light fitting to a wall.

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Lampposts are often deemed unsafe to hang lights from and some roads have even been deemed 'too wide' for festive illuminations.

Stephen Alambritis, of the Federation of Small Businesses, said: "The festive period is looking darker and bleaker.

"Towns everywhere are facing the prospect of no Christmas lights – because councils simply can't afford the insurance.

"Christmas lights excite consumers and make them want to go on to the high street. The sense of pride a good festive display can instill on a town centre is immeasurable.

"Spiralling costs and exhaustive safety concerns are ruining the festive spirit for everyone."

In Clevedon, near Bristol, traders have spent all year raising £3,000 for their Christmas illuminations.

But they had to cancel their display after North Somerset Council ruled that lights can no longer be attached to lampposts or buildings.

In Sandwell, West Midlands, traders have been told lights cannot be hung across roads in case the cables break.

And officials in Bodmin, Cornwall, say health and safety rules mean they can no longer afford any illuminations. The council was ordered to make two workmen in a cherry picker use a pressure gauge to test all 150 bolts which hold lights or cables around the town.

The checks would have cost £1,200 in training fees, plus the men's wages and the cost of the equipment.

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The town centre roads would have had to be closed for at least a day to carry out the tests.

Council spokesman Kim Roscoe said: "Bodmin will not be the same without its Christmas lights, and it is particularly galling as last year was the best ever."

A spokesman for the Association of British Insurers blamed the high cost of premiums on our increasingly litigious society.

He said: "Insurance is a riskbased product and a high proportion of that risk is liability."