Council officials still do not know why a set of streetlights have stopped working – more than five years after the fault was first reported.

A number of lights on the A34 Stone Road, between Trentham Gardens and Trentham Monkey Forest, have been out of action since February 2020.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council has been working with its lighting contractor Enerveo to resolve the issue, but leaders say the cause of the fault remains 'elusive'.

Engineers are now set to carry out a complete recabling of the affected section in order to finally get the lights working again.

Dan Jellyman, Conservative group leader and ward councillor for Hanford, Newstead and Trentham, asked for an update on the situation through a formal written question.

He requested a 'definitive date' for when the lights would be fixed, and asked whether there would be a financial penalty for the contractor.

In his written response, Finlay Gordon-McCusker, cabinet member for transport, infrastructure and regeneration, confirmed that work to resolve the issue was still ongoing.

He said: "I can confirm that the city council is fully aware of the ongoing problem. Despite numerous repair attempts, the fault remains elusive and will now require a complete recabling of the affected section to resolve it.

"This work is complex and involves coordinating with multiple stakeholders, including Staffordshire Highways and National Highways, to schedule appropriate road closures for the necessary repairs.

"We acknowledge the inconvenience caused and are working closely with our lighting contractor to resolve the issue as soon as possible.

"Although financial penalties are not applicable under the terms of the current PFI contract, we are maintaining pressure on the contractor to deliver a long-term solution."

The council's PFI contract with Enerveo, which covers the maintenance of 40,000 streetlights in the city, is due to come to an end in August 2028.

The council says it has made plans to ensure a 'seamless handover' at the end of the contract.

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