Sponsored lampposts will not be sprouting up around Thurrock - despite a firm's offer to help pay the repair bills.

Councillor Arthur Clarke, chairman of Thurrock Council's environment services committee, told members the lighting stock within Thurrock was in a very poor state of repair and needed huge and regular funding to maintain safety standards.

At present, some 400 lampposts were in desperate need of repair.

Adlamp Ltd had offered to form a partnership with the council whereby advertising space would be sold on each column, earning enough to replace up to 420 lampposts per year.

The similar and successful partnership has been made between councils and bus shelter companies, such as with Adshel in Southend and Castle Point.

However, Mr Clarke said members were unhappy with the concept.

He said: "We have thought about this long and hard and our response can be summed up in three words - no thank-you.

"We have looked at it and for various reasons it's the last thing we would want. We have a serious problem and it is country-wide, not just borough-wide. But we are not going to go for the sponsored lampposts.

"Getting in and out of Thurrock is enough of a problem without lampposts with adverts."

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