Residents of a Surrey town say they want street lights back on overnight due to concerns about safety and anti-social behaviour (ASB).<\/p>\n
Merstham residents have started a petition calling for lighting between 00:00 and 04:00, highlighting car break-ins and a “growing sense of insecurity” across the neighbourhood.<\/p>\n
Surrey County Council – which has been approached for comment – says on its website it introduced the part-time lighting scheme in 2016 for the energy and environmental impact.<\/p>\n
It says a consultation showed more than 75% of respondents were in favour of some streets being lit part-time, with locations being agreed with police.<\/p>\n
Paul Wright from Merstham, who started the petition, told BBC Radio Surrey: “Walking down the road at night with no lights, you do feel very concerned.<\/p>\n
“You don’t know who’s hanging around the corner. I’m one for prevention rather than cure.<\/p>\n
“We should feel safe and the lights need to be switched back on.”<\/p>\n
‘It’s a problem everywhere’<\/p>\n
Jumai, a Merstham resident for 20 years, said: “Any mother would worry about ASB, but I’m not too worried as I haven’t experienced it.”<\/p>\n
However, Arron, who works in a shop in the town said ASB was a problem everywhere, not just in Merstham.<\/p>\n
“It’s hard to get insured for some things as well,” he added.<\/p>\n
Lyndsey Whatley, Surrey Police’s borough commander for Reigate and Banstead, said there had been a “marked reduction” in offences in the last month due to enforcement work.<\/p>\n
“Back in March and April we had a peak in offending, with 22 offences reported in the Merstham area,” she said.<\/p>\n
“We did a lot of work with the local community, building up the intelligence picture… doing a lot of house-to-house and CCTV enquiries.<\/p>\n
“We dealt with the enforcement around vehicle crime and we also had county line drug activity going on and we did joint warrants with the Metropolitan Police.”<\/p>\n
Whatley said that “after all this enforcement” only six offences were reported in June.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere in Surrey, earlier this week, Woking Borough Council launched a week-long crackdown on antisocial behaviour.<\/p>\n
It said more than 200 cases were reported in the borough in 2025\/2026, ranging from noisy neighbours to obstructive parking.<\/p>\n
Surrey Police have also issued a number of dispersal orders in the county over weekends in 2026, including in Staines, Thames Ditton and Guildford.<\/p>\n
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