There appears to be light at the end of the tunnel for a village without lighting on a main route for over a year.

A road in St Bees, known locally as Coach Road, has been without lighting long-term and the matter has been said to be causing concern in the village.

However, following enquiries from The Whitehaven News, engineers have now uncovered the fault and work to restore lighting has started.

Two of the lights were fixed before Christmas, and Cumbria County County Council – on behalf of owners Copeland Council – is awaiting the nod to restore the rest.

A lengthy investigation took place to identify the fault, and ultimately whether it was Copeland Council or Electricity North West responsible for their repair.

It emerged the outage had been caused by damage to a low-voltage cable that is supplying the lights, and was the responsibility of the borough council.

The road, which runs between the railway station and Beach Road, is a popular route.

Doug Sim, chairman of St Bees Parish Council, had previously pleaded for the responsible bodies to fix the lights.

He said: “We have had numerous complaints over the time the lights have been out.

"We are very frustrated because of the length of time it has taken for the responsible bodies to decide who is responsible for what and what is the problem. It’s very confusing and complex. They should get on and do it.”