Angus Council has denied it is burning a hole in its pocket with a set of faulty street lights.
Street lamps in Main Road and Old School Road in Westmuir, Kirriemuir, have been burning for 24 hours a day, every day, following their installation in October last year.
The lamps were put in as part of a project to replace the obsolete lights that had been in the street for some time.
Derek Fonteyn (81), who stays on Old School Road, said he contacted the council about the issue but said he still doesn’t know what’s going on.
Mr Fonteyn said: “They were installed about three months ago and they have been on 24/7, which seems a hell of a waste.
“I spoke to the council at the time and they said it would be sorted out soon. Someone phoned me last week and said it would be finished by the end of February and would be resolved some time in March which is a bit long.
“I’m just concerned about the waste. I spoke to Scottish and Southern (Energy) soon after and they were concerned about it too but they couldn’t give me any answers.”
Angus Council confirmed it was investigating but denied the problem was creating any extra cost.
A spokeswoman said: “There are eight lights burning constantly in Old School Road, Westmuir, Kirriemuir, and have been since they were installed in October.
“We previously experienced underground cable faults in this area which resulted in the need for new lighting.
“It is proposed to control this lighting from other new lighting which will be installed on the main road as part of work to upgrade the footpaths.
“However, due to the weather, this work has been delayed resulting in the eight lights burning longer than anticipated. There has been no extra cost to the council.”
The cost of running street lamps was previously highlighted as an issue for the council in 2009.
It embarked on a street light dimming trial in an attempt to lower its carbon footprint and its electricity bills. It was expected that dimming the lights could reduce the council’s energy bill by 25%.
A survey was conducted during the trial which showed that 71% of people who were asked said they did not notice a difference in lighting in their street.
The issue of faulty lights had also been raised in Montrose, with residents there criticising the council for engaging in the dimming scheme when there were lights burning throughout the day.
However, it emerged that the age of the cabling was creating an issue, similar to that in Kirriemuir.