Lights in two Fife residential streets have been broken for almost a year amid a repairs backlog.
Broken streetlights were reported in Waggon Road, Leven, and Manse Road, Markinch, as far back as March 2023.
They are among 77 roads across Fife waiting for repairs, with complaints received from towns and villages in every area.
Streets in Cupar, St Monans, Anstruther, Newport, Freuchie and Buckhaven have been in the dark since September.
Three reports date back to October and a further 35 have been ongoing since before Christmas.
The figures were revealed via a freedom of information request submitted by East Neuk councillor Sean Dillon.
He called the situation “completely unacceptable” and added: “It is fundamentally an issue of public safety.”
‘Residents deserve well-lit streets’
Scottish Power is reviewing all outstanding repairs, with the backlog said to be caused by sub-contractor staffing issues.
However, Mr Dillon said: “These are damning figures that highlight the failure of Scottish Power to provide an adequate service right across Fife.
“In my own ward, we have seen 10 streets with faulty lights.
“This is completely unacceptable, especially at this time of year when the nights are long.
“Residents deserve to be able to go out into well-lit streets.”
Scottish Power sub-contractor replaced
The Liberal Democrat councillor urged Scottish Power and Fife Council to work together to resolve the issue.
And he added: “The figures show the lack of investment by both the private and public sector in our public services.
“At the end of the day, it’s the people of Fife that suffer as a result.”
Council officers met Scottish Power to discuss the problems earlier this month.
The power company has now replaced the sub-contractor and has arranged a repair programme.
A spokesperson said: “We thank customers for their patience while we work hard to repair these faults as quickly and efficiently as possible.”
Discussions continue on Fife street light faults
Fife Council’s roads maintenance manager Bill Liddle said most of the faults were single street lights rather than entire roads.
He added: “Underground cable faults can take more time to fix and we are in discussion with ScottishPower on the time it is taking to repair these faults on the street lighting network.
“Fines are payable to the council if target dates are not met.
“We will continue to press for any outstanding work to be completed as soon as possible.”
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