SOME shoppers in Oxfordshire have been bulk buying “old-style” 60-watt bulbs following an EU- imposed manufacturing ban to make us go green.

A similar European Union ban on the 100-watt incandescent bulb in 2009 has prompted its gradual disappearance from the shelves of Britain’s shops.

The latest ban has been criticised by some consumers who claim energy-efficient halogen and compact fluorescent bulbs are not as bright and more harmful to the environment.

But green campaigners say the days of filament bulbs have blown for good.

Mark Smith, 45, manager of Smith and Low hardware store in Hollow Way, Cowley, said his customers have started bulk-buying packs of 60-watt bulbs since the ban came in.

He added: “People have been coming in and buying 10 packs, which cost £5.99.

“The older generation in particular prefer the old-fashioned bulbs because they prefer the quality of light they give out.

“You can’t use dimmer switches with the low-energy bulbs, which is another reason why some people don’t like them.

“Before the 100-watt ban came in, we bought in about 10,000 100-watt bulbs and we have now sold them, so some people must be hoarding them.

“The new energy-efficient bulbs are more expensive, but we are selling them as well.

“A lot of people don’t like change and if they have problems with their eyesight, then they do want good light.”

But Rob Giddings, manager of F Knight & Sons store in Ock Street, Abingdon, said he had not noticed customers bulk-buying since the 60-watt ban, adding: “We have still got plenty of 60-watt, 100-watt and 150-watt bulbs and there is no need to panic — there’ll be stocks around for quite a while yet.

“When the first announcement was made a couple of years ago there was some panic buying, but it has not happened to the same extent this time.”

Pensioners’ spokesman Bill Jupp, from Marston, Oxford, said: “The new bulbs are, quite frankly, inferior to the old ones and lots of pensioners will regret that the quality of light they are getting is not as good.

“We bought one of the new energy-efficient bulbs, but it was a waste of time — you had to put other lights on to supplement it.”

Oxford-based Green Party activist Chris Goodall welcomed the change and said the old-style bulbs, invented by Thomas Edison more than 100 years ago, had reached the end of their shelf life.

He said: “The incandescent bulb has served us well, but it is a grossly inefficient way of providing light. The way forward is the LED bulbs.

“They cost between £5 and £20, but the cost will come down and they represent the future of lighting around the world.”

In June, Sheila Gilmore, Labour MP for Edinburgh East, tabled an Early-Day Motion in the Commons calling for old-style bulbs to remain available for people who suffer illnesses which make them light-sensitive.