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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Tess McClure in Auckland

Do look up: 1,000 street lights at risk of falling, Wellington tells residents

Richard MacLean Wellington Council New Zealand
Wellington street
Reports of Wellington street lamps dropping their heads emerged on Friday morning, when an ex-councillor discovered one smashed on the ground near his house. Photograph: Nick Perry/AP

New Zealand’s capital is being plagued by hundreds of potentially deadly street lights that have begun dropping without warning and smashing on the footpath below.

Wellington city council spokesperson Richard MacLean said the council was aware of the problem. The lamp heads weighed up to 15kg (33lb), he said – about equivalent to a bulk sack of rice, full-grown border collie or a microwave oven. They were falling from heights of 4-6m.

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