A 71-year-old man is angry the pathway outside his home has become “dangerous” to walk along after a street light has been left unrepaired for three months.

Melvyn Jackson contacted Watford Borough Council about the lamp outside his home in North Western Avenue, in North Watford, but says they claimed that “it was nothing to do with them”.

He then tried Hertfordshire County Council, who look after residential street lighting, but they also provided “no answers”.

Mr Jackson is worried that someone could fall in the darkness – particularly as there are 18 steps to clamber up along the pathway before reaching the houses in the street.

He said: “It is dangerous because you cannot see anything when it is dark at night-time.

“We live on a slope and the houses are set back with 18 steps to get up to the pathway and people could easily fall down the steps.

“Nobody is taking responsibility for the broken light, but there must be somebody who is paying the electricity bill.”

When contacted by The Observer, a spokesperson for Watford Borough Council explained the streetlight was not owned by them.

Hertfordshire County Council could not find any details of Mr Jackson’s enquiry on their system.

However, they advised him to visit their website: hertfordshire.gov.uk/faultreporting/

Once a fault has been reported on their online system, it is officially logged, investigated to see where it is and if they are responsible for the fault, they process the job and schedule it for their crews to deal with.

The most dangerous faults are investigated first and the resident will be kept up to date through email on the fault and its repair.