ESSEX County Council failed to hit its target of keeping 98 per cent of the county’s street lights working properly.

Figures released by County Hall show last month the council missed the target Essex-wide, but succeeded in Chelmsford.

A total of 273 of Chelmsford’s 16,533 street lights were not working last month (1.65 per cent), down 26 on December 2014’s figures. Countywide, the figure was 2.05 per cent.

The worst area for defective street lights, however, was along parts of the A127, where 187 of the 1,135 lights for which the council is responsible were not working – 16 per cent.

Lights in Southend and Thurrock are not maintained by the county council, but by the two boroughs’ own unitary councils.

Essex County Council infrastructure director Paul Bird said: “Street light maintenance is a key priority and regular inspections take place to ensure the network is working to aid public safety.

“Our aim is to keep the percentage of defective lights to below two per cent of our total stock.”

Across the entire county, but excluding the A127 lights, however, the council says faulty lights averaged out at 1.89 per cent of the total.

If the A127 lights are factoredin, it pushes the percentage up to 2.04 per cent. Essex is responsible for the third largest number of streetlights of any council in the country and this is the first time it has revealed the number of faulty lights.

The figures have no connection to the council’s controversial decision to impose a blackout in most streets between midnight and 5am – recently modified so the lights now stay on an hour later, until 1am, Monday to Saturday.

Energy-saving LED street lights are due to be trialled in Essex this year, but not Chelmsford. County Hall will convert lights in Colchester, Maldon, Burnham, Saffron Walden, Dunmow and Stansted Mountfitchet.

The council will be able to measure energy savings with the LED lights compared to conventional street lights.