A perplexed parish councillor has hit out at county hall bosses for taking two years, and counting, to fix broken streetlights.

Roger Mannion, who is on Tiptree Parish Council, believes there are 110 Essex County Council controlled lights which are not working in the village.

Council bosses believe there are just 55 out in Tiptree - and accept it is still too many.

Mr Mannion said: “We did a survey - if you go online you can check which lights are out and the job number for them when they are reported.

“It is not differentiated whether it is a fault with a light or a cable fault.

“I suspect, but I don’t know, if it is a problem with the cable then they are classed differently and as nothing to do with Essex County Council - I’m sorry but that shouldn’t be the case.

“If it is off then it is off.

“You would also think as a councillor it would give you a little bit of leverage.

“But it isn’t the case - you try and phone them and you get put through to a call centre.

“If you ask to speak to somebody who is actually making a decision then they just say they will pass the message on.”

Mr Mannion said he was concerned about the number of lights out in a short stretch along one of the village’s busiest routes.

He said: “From Maldon Road as you drive away from Tiptree Heath to the top of Church Road with the double roundabouts there are approximately 20 lights out.”

A spokesman for Essex County Council said: “We have ten crews across Essex working flat out every working day just fixing streetlights. We repair at least 34,000 lights each year.”