RUBERY residents who have been 'in the dark' for almost a year while walking through a town centre subway will finally see the light, council chiefs have AGAIN promised.

The Advertiser reported more than six months ago that residents were having to use the subway between Gannow Road and Whetty Lane without working lights.

At the time, Worcestershire County Council promised to install "long-term appropriate lighting" but that failed to materialise, leading to an angry outburst from local councillor Peter McDonald.

After he pointed out that another subway safety feature, a mirror, was also broken, the council has repaired it and promised that the thoroughfare lighting will be fixed within a fortnight.

Cllr McDonald told the Advertiser: “The subway is completely neglected by the County Council.

"After nearly a year of complaining about five sets of lights being out they have yet to be repaired.

"The mirror located on the wall before you enter the subway, so pedestrians can see if anyone is lurking around the corner, was damaged some time ago and has still not been repaired.

"The mirrors are an important part of the subway as they were installed some years ago after a number of assaults. This was mainly due to the fact pedestrians walked blindly into the subways.

"The installation of the mirrors allows pedestrians to be able to see who is in the subway before entering. Since their installation there have been no assaults.

"The County Council are seriously failing in their duty of care to the residents of Rubery putting them at unnecessary risk."

Councillor Alan Amos, cabinet member with responsibility for Highways at Worcestershire County Council confirmed that the mirror has now been repaired.

He added: "All the lights in the subway will be working within the next two weeks. We will continue to liaise with Councillor McDonald on this matter.”