Homeowners in St Andrews, Bristol, woke up to discover the historic street lights had been replaced with modern ones.

Residents said they were angered further to discover the lamps - which date back more than a century - were moved to nearby Clifton, a more affluent part of the city.

Homeowners claim they had no warning and have mounted a campaign to have the posts returned.

Archaeologist David Cemlyn, who lives in Effingham Road, St Andrews, said: "The council said they consulted on this last April, but nobody knew anything about it.

"They say they're doing it to reduce car crime and street crime, but it even says on the Home Office website that increasing street lighting doesn't have an effect on crime levels.

"They need to increase the number of these Victorian lampposts in conservation areas in the city. So their solution is to take them out of areas which aren't conservation areas and move them into those which are."

Mr Cemlyn said removing the lampposts from his neighbourhood was "an act of vandalism".

"The community is absolutely livid," he said. "I've had people stopping me in the street and emails piling up from people who say the council won't listen to them.

"The lampposts are part of what makes the ambience of an area - ripping them up is an act of vandalism."