Residents claim they have been left in the dark about plans to install lights in a service road behind their homes.

They are furious that, after a 30-year battle to get the lights, some homeowners may now be asked to pay towards the £15,000 cost.

People living in Stonery Road and Drove Crescent, Portslade, have been campaigning for nearly three decades to get lights put in to help prevent burglaries and to improve security.

Earlier this year, they thought they had won their battle.

They were told money had been set aside for the scheme in the unnamed access road that has been dubbed Coronation Street by local residents.

But their celebrations were brought to an end when Martin Booty, Brighton and Hove City Council's operations manager, said some of them could have to pay towards the lights.

They have been told it will cost more than £15,000 to install the four lamp posts.

All of the homes in both roads were originally council houses but some are now privately owned.

Dave Bonwick, who has led the campaign for the lights, said: "We have been trying to get these lights for years.

"The council spent thousands providing security lighting at the Downland Court flats opposite us but would not do anything about the public service road at the back of us.

"All sorts of undesirables hang about there at night and many of the residents, including me, have had their homes broken into.

"The council is saying we can have the lights if a simple majority of residents want them.

"The tenants are bound to say yes because the council will pay their share of the bill.

"Those of us who now own our homes will say no because, as far as we are concerned, we should not have to pay.

"I have checked my deeds and there is nothing in them to say we have to pay for future maintenance.

"The council tried this a few years ago when the access road was resurfaced. They said we would have to contribute when we didn't have to.

"After telling us we were going to get the lights, they are now leaving us in the dark about what is going on."

A council spokeswoman said: "The council is under no obligation to light the road.

"The council is, however, concerned about the health and safety of residents in Stonery Road and Drove Crescent.

"We will contact the residents and the police and assess the need for lights in the road.

"We will then make a judgment based on safety issues and the availability of money for this type of work."