Now that the clocks have gone back for winter, it is important that road users are able to see what they are doing when they get behind the wheel.

However, an investigation by the Sunday Telegraph has revealed that more than 3,000 miles of motorways and A-roads in England have had their street lights switched off in a bid to save money on electricity bills and reduce carbon emissions.

The newspaper found a further 50-odd miles of motorway have no lights on between midnight and 5am, while all 27 of
England's county councils admit to having turned off or dimmed street lights in their area.

This is despite the fact that LED lighting is being used by a number of local authorities in order to cut down vast energy bills and meet their green goals.

Earlier this month, for example, the Scunthorpe Telegraph reported that a trial scheme in the town is seeing energy saving LED light bulbs fitted to street lights in Queensway.

Councillor Nigel Sherwood, cabinet member for highways and neighbourhoods at North Lincolnshire Council, told the newspaper that the lights on that road were due for replacement.

"They were down to be replaced and it was a rolling project. So rather than replace them with old-fashioned lights, they were replaced with the modern day equivalent, which is the LED," he explained.

"We have had an excellent response to it, better than expected from the residents in Brigg for a subject like street lighting."

It's not just councils that can take advantage of the money saving properties of LEDs - householders, too, can fit the clever diodes to their fixtures in order to benefit from their long lifespan and much greater energy efficiency.

Try the 9 Watt LED IP54 Dimmable Downlighter White (6400K) from Meteor Electrical, which has an A-grade energy rating and a lamp life of 50,000 hours. Ideal for use around the home, the downlighter is also fully dimmable, so you can create different atmospheres in your house.