Tragic end for old lamppost

The Victorian lamp post, at the bottom of Keere Street, was erected before 1870.

Converted from gas to electricity, it was the only one of its kind left in the town until the accident which broke it in half.

Now, like Humpty Dumpty, no one knows how to put it back together again.

The remaining stump of the lamp post has been made safe with a traffic cone while the broken upper part has been taken away for safekeeping at a highways department depot.

The county council is saying at the moment that it cannot be repaired. It is suggesting a replacement in 'similar heritage style'.

But some members of the Friends of Lewes, who helped have the cast iron lamp post Grade-Two listed in May, 2000, are wondering if it could be made whole again with perhaps a metal band added to it to hold it together.

'It's very sad to hear of this accident to our last Victorian lamp post,' said a spokesman. 'We shall have to see if something can be done.'

There are 728 buildings in Lewes listed as having architectural interest but only one lamp post.

In fact, there are very few listed lamp posts in the country.