KEY POINTS:
The local council have blamed a former contractor for a child receiving an electric shock yesterday that led to the shutting down of street lights on more than 50 Kapiti streets.
Kapiti Coast District Council spokesman Tony Cronin said the child, whose age was not known, had received a "mild shock" from a street lamp pole in Riwai Street, Paraparaumu.
"There was nothing damaging about it - but there could have been," he told NZPA.
The contractor who installed and maintained the street lighting during the 2003/2004 period appeared to have in correctly wired the pole in Riwai Street.
"When they've done it once, the suspicion is that they may have done it more than once, so that's why all of the streets with which that particular contractor was involved have been looked at," Mr Cronin said.
The lights on the 53 streets involved had been disconnected , but 30 would be turned back on tonight . The remaining 23 streets would remain unlit until Monday as a precautionary measure.
As far as the contractor was concerned, Mr Cronin said, there would probably be no consequences.
"The repercussions for the contractor have already occurred - he went into receivership a little while ago.
"From the council's point of view, there isn't a heck of a lot of redress that we're going to be able to get out of this, but it's important really just to get the job done and make sure that we are safe."
- NZPA
