THE historic village of Sampford Courtenay has succeeded in a 15-year campaign to have its electric wires hidden underground. But there is some disappointment with the new street lighting and the village is now fundraising for something more in keeping with its character. The village had street lights mounted on wooden posts and electric wires that criss-crossed the road. Now all of that is disappearing and being replaced by lights mounted on metal columns. The new light fittings, are larger, modern looking, and cast an orangeish light over the thatch-and-cob village. Denny Stimson, of Stanford's Estate Agents in Sampford Courtenay, said the village had been shocked when the new lights went up. She said: 'It's a pretty village, in a conservation area. As households we can't put in UPVC double-glazing and so on, so it's strange that something as ugly as these can just be put up. 'Places like South Zeal have nice, Victorian-style, goose-neck lights, so why can't we?' Devon County Council policy is that in such projects only standard fixtures will be fitted, regardless of location. A spokesman said: 'Due to budgetary cutbacks in recent years, in such instances it is standard procedure to offer to finance the installation of general maintenance street lighting columns and lanterns initially. 'If more expensive styles of column and lantern are requested by the parish, district or town council, it is requested that they provide funding for the difference in costs.' Sampford Courtenay villagers have therefore set out to raise the £6,000 necessary to decorate their lightposts and replace the light heads with heritage-style lamps. Denny Stimson said they are hoping to apply for a range of grants and funding to help them. The removal of the village's old lights raised questions as to whether street lighting was desirable at all, and at a meeting some villagers expressed a wish for the lights to disappear entirely. But as the village has no footpaths, it was concluded that some lighting was necessary. Denny Stimson said: 'We can't go back 15 years, but then again we don't want lights that are bigger than the old ones.' It is now hoped that attractive lighting, in keeping with the village, will be an acceptable compromise. And Colin Coleman and Company Chartered Engineers, who are based in the village and specialise in heritage projects, have offered to produce a set of drawings of possible lantern styles in situ. These would be made available for public consultation, so that a common view on a desirable design could be presented to the parish council. In the meantime, it has been proposed that the village's old lanterns should be refitted to its modern posts as an interim measure. If all goes well with the fundraising appeal, it is hoped the new light fittings will be gracing their posts in 12 to 18 months' time.