Residents want lights on to deter anti-social behaviour

Residents of a Surrey town say they want street lights back on overnight due to concerns about safety and anti-social behaviour (ASB).

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.

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.

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.

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.

"You don't know who's hanging around the corner. I'm one for prevention rather than cure.

"We should feel safe and the lights need to be switched back on."

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."

However, Arron, who works in a shop in the town said ASB was a problem everywhere, not just in Merstham.

"It's hard to get insured for some things as well," he added.

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.

"Back in March and April we had a peak in offending, with 22 offences reported in the Merstham area," she said.

"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.

"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."

Whatley said that "after all this enforcement" only six offences were reported in June.

Elsewhere in Surrey, earlier this week, Woking Borough Council launched a week-long crackdown on antisocial behaviour.

It said more than 200 cases were reported in the borough in 2025/2026, ranging from noisy neighbours to obstructive parking.

Surrey Police have also issued a number of dispersal orders in the county over weekends in 2026, including in Staines, Thames Ditton and Guildford.

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