Tens of thousands of Bradford street lights are defective or need replacing according to a new report.

Police officers and anti-crime groups say the Council study, which shows a shocking two out of three are 'not fit for purpose', is worrying and have called for better lighting to be made a priority.

The study found 35,000 of the district's 50,000 street lights need to be replaced because they are defective or too old - more than 5,000 of them are over 40 years old.

The authority's environment and waste management improvement committee will be told the problem has developed because there is no specific Government funding for street lighting. The Council currently pays for it through money raised itself and through Government cash allocated for general road improvements.

The Council's only funding options are bidding for cash the Government may make available to operate in partnership with a private company, or borrowing the money itself.

Sergeant Andy McGrath, of Bradford Police's crime reduction unit, said of the figures: "It is not good at all, this really needs to be a priority. There is no point in us fitting extra locks in homes and trying to make it harder for people to break in if the street lighting is poor."

Recent studies have shown that every £1 spent on improving street lighting can lead to a £4 reduction in the cost of crime and road accidents. Founder of Bradford's Safe project, Elizabeth Hellmich, said both the Government and the Council need to take the issue seriously. "This is a high priority, especially in winter. People feel desperately unsafe once they have seen children hanging around in an area that street lamps don't cover."

Councillor Ghazanfer Khaliq (Lab, Bradford Moor) chairs the Council's environment committee which will receive the report on Wednesday. He said three out of four street lamps in his ward are inadequate. "This is quite a worrying statistic, and we are looking to officers to provide us with additional information to look for funding," he said.

The report also says around 60 per cent, or 4,000, illuminated street signs may also need replacing. Steve Barton, the Council officer who compiled the paper, said: "No one is suggesting there are hundreds of lampposts about to fall over, but the longer it goes on the more concern there will be."