The Monkwearmouth man is urging city council bosses to tackle the problem of falling Christmas illuminations in Sunderland city centre.

Gordon, of Netherburn Road, originally raised the issue of damaged Christmas lights with the city council more than a year ago, but says nothing has been done and the situation has now become serious.

He believes it is only a matter of time before someone is hurt.

Gordon said: "There are about 50 rows of lights in five sets around the city centre.

"You have got three sets of them in Fawcett Street and two in John Street.

"They are starting to snap and hang down – I think something needs doing very quickly.

"They say they are going to leave them there," he said. "Are they going to be left until they fall down?"

A string of lights has already come away at the junction of Fawcett Street and Athenaeum Street, and has been wrapped around a lamppost to prevent accidents.

Gordon is also worried that dangling lights could be a hazard for trucks and double-decker buses.

A spokesman for Sunderland City Council said: "The lighting nets located on three sections of Fawcett Street have been left in place since their erection for the festive period of 2006. This is in order to minimise stresses and potential damage during erection and removal operations. 

"The installations are checked regularly and adjusted or tensioned as necessary. If any damage is occasioned to the fittings this will be made safe immediately and followed up with a permanent repair. 

"The most recent incident occurred in the early hours of Tuesday when a string of lights became dislodged. This was made safe by the duty electrician, who fixed the string to the adjacent column; a permanent repair was then carried out during normal working hours on the Tuesday morning."