All of Brighton and Hove’s ornate Victorian lamps are to be inspected after one crashed to the ground on Thursday along Marine Parade.
The lamp came down early on Thursday morning, missing parked cars and taking a small chunk out of the pavement.
It’s not yet known what caused it to break, but James Mitchell, who took this picture, said the joints appeared to be corroded and it came down in the wind.
Now, the council is inspecting the column to find out what happened, and says it will inspect all the others too. Meanwhile, the lamp will be recast and replaced.
A spokesman for Brighton and Hove City Council said: “The top section of one of our older heritage lamps has come away and fallen to the ground. It was reported to the council by one of our contractors and members of the public yesterday morning. No other damage was caused other than to the lamp itself. The lamp is on the sea side of Marine Parade.
“We’re now in the process of inspecting this column to find out what happened and we will also be inspecting the other heritage columns. This is in addition to our annual visual inspection of street lighting columns.
“It will be repaired, but too early to say how long that will take as this is a heritage lamp that will need to be recast.”
