A SLEEPLESS resident who was not getting his 40 winks may have found his own unusual solution.

A SLEEPLESS resident who was not getting his 40 winks may have found his own unusual solution.

Axbridge Town Council received a letter from a man living in Mendip Close who complained the light from one of the street lamp posts was keeping him awake at night.

Just a few days later a piece of plastic appeared round the top of one of the posts, blocking the light.

Councillor Paul Passey said: "I don't know if it was the same gentleman himself who put the plastic up but now the man in the house opposite is also complaining about light in his bedroom."

At a full council meeting this month, Cllr Jennifer Trotman suggested that future developments in the area should include 'clear skies' lamp posts, where light is only aimed down. Other councillors suggested only having every other lamp post on at night, dimmers or turning them off during certain hours of the evening.

Somerset County Council automatically installs lamp posts with minimal light pollution when new roads are built. The fixtures have high-quality reflectors that target light down into the road rather than up into the sky and surrounding properties.

A spokesman for the council said: "We regularly test lamp posts and will replace them as and when it is needed. We are also told when lamp posts are damaged, for example in a car accident, and replace them straight away.

"All new lamp posts automatically have the reflectors to cut down the amount of light being emitted into the sky."

The clerk of the town council will be contacting Somerset County Council to get advise about cutting down on lighting in the town.