A six-year project costing £30million to improve Croydon's street lighting was approved on Monday.

Croydon Council will now be looking for tenders for the project which will see more than 30,000 new street lights installed in the borough, 7,000 more than at present.

The plans, approved at the council's cabinet meeting on Monday, mean the town and district centres could have their own style of lights as well as hanging baskets and banners.

The council hopes that some of the money spent on upgrading the street lights could be recouped by reducing crime and traffic accidents. Plans to include on-street advertising are being investigated.

Councillor Gerry Ryan, cabinet member for environmental services, said: "Not only will there be more columns in most of our roads but the light intensity will also be increased to ensure better all-round visibility.

"We know that improved street lighting is a great deterrent to crime and helps tackle the fear of crime. Clearly it also has a big role to play in road safety.

"In fact research has shown that for every pound spent on better street lighting there is an overall saving of £4 in terms of road safety, crime and damage to property. This makes the project a sound investment and one which will leave Croydon as one of the best lit places in London."