A leading opposition politician has questioned the reason why Hertfordshire’s streetlights are still malfunctioning three years after the switch-off initiative.

Stephen Giles-Medhurst, a county councillor for Oxhey and central Watford and leader of the Hertfordshire Liberal Democrat group, asked why the county paid for faulty equipment.

His comments come after the council’s Conservative administration warned there could be further problems with streetlights when clocks go forward next Sunday.

Streetlight issues started around the switch-over to British Summer Time in 2012 after the council installed photocells to control the money-saving nighttime switch-off initiative.

Following the warning, councillor Giles-Medhurst said: "After almost three years of switching the lights off at midnight we still cannot get an assurance that the regular problem we have had every time the clocks change will not occur.

"Each year and time we are assured it will not be a problem.

"Tories have admitted in advance there will be problems.  The question I want answered is why on earth did they pay for faulty equipment to start with, was the night time turn-off all rushed through with no checking on equipment or its capability?"

Earlier this week the council said any lights that did malfunction would be fixed by its contractor Amey Lafarge at the company's expense.