A RELATIVE of the soldier killed on Christmas Day in Clevedon believes he would still be alive if the street lights had not been turned off.

Mum-of-four Kelly Heal said her husband Richard’s cousin, Edward Heal, was a victim of North Somerset Council’s cost-cutting measures.

The 19-year-old died in Kenn Road following a road accident in the early hours.

The authority switched off the lights on what residents have described as a ‘busy route out of the seaside town’, between midnight and 5am last year, in a bid to save an estimated �115,000 a year in energy costs by 2014.

Kelly, aged 28, from Weston, started a Facebook campaign and an on-line petition to get the lights back on, which has been signed by more than 800 people.

The campaigner protested at a full meeting of the council on Tuesday night, along with Kenn Road resident Carol Dyer and Kenn Road News owner Kandia Mohan who handed over a 500-signature petition.

Kelly said: “Our aim is to get across to the council that it’s not just about the incident on Kenn Road, it’s about public safety.

“I think it was a major contribution to Edward’s death.”

She feels the council should be cutting back on the money it spends sending out North Somerset Life magazine to every household in the district instead.

Anyone wishing to sign the online petition, which will continue until the end of the month, can visit www.petitiononline.co.uk/petition/north-somerset-council-turn-our-street-lights-back-on/4080