Published: March 24, 2008
High winds topple street lighting column on Burnham seafront

Strong winds on Bank Holiday Monday (March 24th) sent a street lighting column crashing down onto a pavement on Burnham seafront.

Council workers were quickly drafted in to remove the debris, as pictured, and to ensure that the safety of walkers was not at risk.

It comes just weeks after we reported that thousands of pounds will have to be spent this year on testing the strength of lighting columns along the Esplanade and High Street due to new health and safety regulations.

The bill for testing could stretch beyond £4,000 and looks set to be shared between the Town Council, Chamber of Trade and Burnham In Bloom - all of whom use the columns to display either decorative lights or flowers.

Tighter government regulations recently came into force, requiring the columns to be tested for their structural integrity.