Street lights have been saved in a village after a parish council agreed to fork out up to £50,000 to bring them up to EU standards.

Moulton Parish Council, which owns the 56 street lights in the village, near Newmarket, agreed to do the work at a well-attended meeting on Tuesday.

The lights currently breach EU law as they stand within two metres of electric cables. The council will spend around £18,000 getting the 16 worst-affected lights up to scratch, with funds coming from the council’s reserves, before upgrading the remaining lights.

Council chairman Bill Rampling said: “We can handle that. We have been putting a bit of money in our reserves for this eventuality, but it’s a lot for a parish council to take on in one big chunk.”

More than 30 residents attended Tuesday’s public meeting to debate whether the council should fund the work or scrap the lights altogether.

In April the council began turning the lights off between midnight and 5.30am, saving £1,000 a year.