MEMBERS of a community sports club say concerns about broken street lights along a dark passageway near their club have fallen on deaf ears.

Three lighting columns outside Dorchester Tennis and Squash Club were installed during the 1990s by Tesco when it built the petrol station at the nearby Tesco Dorchester superstore.

As illustrated by documents from 1994 produced by the tennis club, Tesco asked the club's permission to lay a footpath leading up to the superstore's carpark on land used by the tennis club.

The three lights were also installed by Tesco to illuminate the pathway - which has now fallen into darkness.

Members of the tennis club say the lights have been out for around four years, during which time they have been trying to get Tesco to carry out the work.

To add to the problem, the lights in Tesco's own carpark are also out, making the footpath even darker than before. It is also slippery with wet leaves.

Concerns are being raised that it is only a matter of time before a member of the public is hurt.

Tennis club member Andy Notley said: "Different people from the tennis club have been on the case to try and get Tesco to fix them but they refuse to accept responsibility.

"We get blamed for the lights not working because they are on our carpark - but they're not wired to our building and we have no control over them.

"We invited the manager of Tesco to an open day at the club and our chairman said that he should go up in the cherry picker and change the bulbs while he was here.

"Obviously it fell on deaf ears again."

John Christmas, club secretary, said: "I'm surprised noone has been seriously injured or robbed along here.

"The pathway is used quite a lot by people walking down from Herringston Road and Manor Park.

"If someone breaks their leg down here one night it isn't going to look good on Tesco."

In a statement, a spokesman from Tesco said they had contacted company called Weymouth Avenue (Dorchester) Ltd, to ask for the lights to be fixed. The director of this company is also Tesco Group company secretary Robert Welch.

A spokesman for Tesco said: “We have contacted Weymouth Avenue (Dorchester) Ltd which is responsible for maintaining the public areas of the trading estate to ask for maintenance work on the lamp posts.”

Tesco declined to comment further on the matter.