Traders say they have been left in the dark after they complained about a lack of Christmas lights.

While the rest of the North Laine area in Brighton is lit up for the festive season from 3pm, traders in Gardner Street have to wait until 7.30pm, and even then they say only half of the lights work.

Traders pay for the lights themselves as the North Laine is a Business Improvement District (Bid).

Launched by the Brighton Business Forum, the Bid scheme acts as a means for shop owners to market the area.

Louisa Yuen, of Oriental Arts, in Gardner Street, said: "We pay £300 a year to Bid which is a lot of money for us compared to companies like HSBC and Boots.

"With no Christmas lights it looks very dark. My shop closes at 5.30pm and if half of the lights come on at 7.30pm what's the point?

"They say they're trying their best but that's not good enough."

James Keeble, who has owned Two Way Books for 43 years, said: "This is the second year running that we have had problems.

"This year they came on during the first day and then after that none of the lights were working.

"People come down here in the evening to see the lights and they are all out."

Fido Griffin, of body jewellery shop Wildcat, said: "For some reason it is always our end of the street that is affected.

"A couple of shops have their own decorations but the area is definitely a black spot. We are lucky in that shops here are unique and people come to visit us.

"If you are a casual visitor to Brighton you'd walk down here and think 'Where are the lights?'."

Soozie Campbell, city centre manager for the Brighton and Hove Business Forum, said she hoped the problem would be sorted soon.

She said: "At the moment we don't know if it is a power problem or product problem.

"I'm not an electrician or an expert in this so I can't say who is in the right and who is in the wrong over this - it's a difficult one. I have called in an independent person who will look into it and say what the fault is."

Mrs Campbell added there had been problems in putting up the lights and that the problems may stem from the decision not to dig up a shop front's mosaic to reach power lines.

She said: "We didn't want to dig up the mosaic so we have had to work around the facilities that are available. There are lots and lots of problems with Christmas lights. People think you just put them up but it's really not like that.

"This is the third set of lights we've put up there. It's not as simple as people think and we are trying our best so we are asking traders to be patient."

Do you own a shop in Gardner Street or nearby? What affect are the lack of Christmas lights having on trade? Also are you amused or bemused by hideous Christmas lights where you live?

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