IF IT’S any comfort, where I live in Hertfordshire we’ve had our residential street lights off at night for the same period as proposed in Oxfordshire for the last three years: it simply reversed the “wasteful” early 1960s decision then to start leaving them on all night!

There seems even less excuse for that nowadays with many more residents having access to car or taxi and the recent switch-off has seemingly led to very little disquiet here: it is only the residential streets and it all helps cut carbon emissions.

In that respect, shops with doors wide open in winter with heaters to keep the cold at bay and big areas of uncovered refrigerated shelves don’t help; but there the cost is borne by we customers.

JOHN DAVIS

Harpenden Hertfordshire