PEOPLE across Wiltshire could get an “awe-inspiring” view of the stars under a new pilot scheme to reduce light pollution.

Funding has been released by Wiltshire Council to replace existing streetlights across the county with new units that can be switched off or dimmed during the night.

The county’s area boards will each be allotted £5,000 under the pilot scheme, which would be enough to change about 100 streetlights per area.

Simon Banton, vice chairman of Figheldean Parish Council, is hoping the village will be picked for the scheme, as he believes blacking out an entire parish will show better results than 100 units across an area.

“We want to change as many as possible in Figheldean so we can be a demonstration of the improvement this can make,” he said.

“If we can make Salisbury Plain and its borders a dark sky site then that would be a huge improvement.

“People will be able to see the night sky and the Milky Way, which is something that most people don’t actually notice because of the orange glow in the sky.

“If you have seen a truly dark sky with the Milky Way stretching across it, it is awesome. You don’t appreciate how many stars there are and how awe-inspiring it is.”

He said an international astronomy event held at Stonehenge a few years ago was tainted by the orange glow from Amesbury that “made the sky look like it was on fire”.

“People were shocked at the amount of light pollution in the middle of the World Heritage Site,” he said. “You can’t see the night sky anymore because Amesbury is getting so big.”

At the moment, the parish council is consulting with residents to identify which lights shouldn’t be changed for safety reasons – such as being over a junction or lighting a footpath.

They will take their findings to the next meeting of Amesbury Area Board to apply for the scheme.