A WALKWAY in Birchwood has been described by residents as 'incredibly unsafe' and 'isolated' at night.

The route, which goes from Birchwood Train Station through to Locking Stumps via Trefoil Close, is one of the only options available to train passengers at night.

Residents say that public transport in the evening runs on a reduced timetable and that taxis are difficult to come by.

This leaves pedestrians with the option to walk down the poorly-lit street.

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One resident took to social media to highlight her issues with the route: "I walked home last night from Birchwood Station through to Trefoil Close.

"It's such a beautiful route in the day but at night I felt incredibly unsafe.

Another Birchwood resident said: "Taxis are not easy to get late at night from the station either. I personally would feel much safer walking from the station at night along the main roads, but there’s no pavement.

"I’ve brought the issue up several times, I’ve always been told that nothing can be done and there are ‘safe’ pedestrian routes - through poorly lit wooded areas."

Councillor David Ellis, chair of Birchwood Town Council, said: "Birchwood Town Council asked for the borough council to look at general street lighting in certain locations in the ward some time ago, as it was felt to be inadequate and sometimes severely impeded by trees."

Cllr Ellis later confirmed that the poor lighting on the route is the result of a fault with the street lighting, and also due to the heavy coverage of trees in the area.

Street lights use yellow and black signs as references for reporting faults (Credit: David Ellis)

He added: "Paths such as the two which go from Locking Stumps towards the Birchwood Centre are essentially the only reasonable way to walk between the two locations and at night these can feel quite isolated and low lighting levels do not help."

Birchwood councillor, and leader of the opposition at Warrington Borough Council, Nigel Balding, said: "As this light is faulty then the chances are that it is not one of the newer LED street lights which report themselves automatically.

"There are an estimated 300 old-style street lights owned by Warrington Borough Council.

"They are wasting energy, costing more money and contributing to climate change."

Residents are encouraged to report poor lighting or faults to Warrington Borough Council - if you have issues in your area, you can report them here.

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