[bbfan1991]

A local authority reportedly made at least 12 visits to change a broken lightbulb in a street lamp.

Cheltenham resident Jack Doran claimed that a lamp post on his street was visited at least a dozen times in six weeks as employees attempted to fix the problem.

Doran told the Gloucestershire Echo: "It just seemed a bit odd that they kept coming and going like that. I'd see somebody arrive and they would take a look, appear to do something, then leave again without it being fixed.

"There were at least 12 visits in all that I counted and I just started to wonder what on earth had gone wrong because it was apparently only one bulb."

The 74-year-old continued by describing the incident as "symptomatic of the sort of thing that seems to happen in local government, but wouldn't in the private sector".

Doran reported the issue on August 15, with initial efforts to fix the street lamp thwarted by an overgrown hedge. Employees from Cheltenham Borough Council's parks and countryside service then visited to cut the hedge.

A second attempt to change the bulb was postponed when water was discovered leaking into the lamp, and a police officer also visited Doran's street to assess whether the lack of light posed a security risk.

Further work was held up when the council discovered that an old-style bulb had to be used as the lamp was part of a project to monitor energy use in the area. A fuse also had to be changed before the light was restored to working order on September 30.

Gloucestershire County Council's street lighting team manager Ken Pitt said: "We appreciate that this repair has taken longer than usual.

"However, it wasn't straightforward and needed several visits to ensure we sorted it out properly."

[Niamh.]

haha, it actually sounds like a joke