Fenland District Council is to spend more than £10,000 to replace 12 existing street lights in Wisbech park with new energy efficient lights which use LED technology.

The upgrade is being carried out as part of the council's street light replacement programme and is scheduled to start next month.

Cllr Peter Murphy, the council's cabinet member responsible for parks and open spaces, said: "The LED lights will improve visibility, keep the park safe and well-lit for pedestrians and use 50 per cent less energy than conventional lamps.

"They will also reduce the number of lighting faults due to the LED's reliability and reduce maintenance costs."

The council will be installing six new LED lights in the park costing £10,400, with £4,000 of the funding coming from Tesco's Bags of Help community grant scheme.

The Bags of Help funding was awarded to the council's Active Fenland team and the Three Counties Running Club following their bid to secure additional lighting for the park.

Three Counties coaches Gary Bligh and Richard Betts worked with Lauren Bremner, Active Fenland's senior health and active lifestyle officer, to secure the Tesco funding.

"This is great news for everyone in Wisbech," said Gary. "A safer, better-lit park works for the whole community and will also give local running clubs a safer place to train during the dark evenings in winter."

"It was great to see the whole club pull together to ensure we won Tesco Bags of Help funding to contribute to the cost of the lights," added Richard.

"We are especially pleased that our Monday night 'trackless' sessions with Active Fenland can now move to the park.

- The 'Trackless' running sessions are held on Monday nights from 7pm-8pm, and are open to runners of all abilities.

- Beginners running sessions are held on Tuesday mornings, 9.30am-10.30am, and Wednesday evenings from 6pm-7pm.

For more information, visit: www.threecountiesrc.org