Worcester shopkeepers have labelled the decision to install "garish" new lights in an historic city centre street disgraceful.

Audrey and Frank Eyre, who run a sandwich shop in Friar Street, say the street lighting being installed opposite the new multi-screen cinema development is out of keeping with the historic surroundings.

"They have attached these big lamps to the Talbot Hotel and they just look terrible," said Mrs Eyre, who runs Friar Street Pantry.

"They just look totally out of keeping with the history of the street."

The lights were paid for as a result of a legal agreement between Worcester City Council and Warner Village Cinemas, which aims to finish the citiplex development in August.

Mrs Eyre says she is pleased with much of the new Friar Street development, but the street lighting has let the project down.

"The road has been block paved and it looks really good," she said. "It will be a lot better than before. The only problem is this lighting.

"If we tried to get a planning application through with lighting like this it would be rejected for not being in keeping with the character of the street."

Mr Eyre described the lamps as being galvanised boxes attached to the wall.

"It is disgraceful," he said.

"I saw one of the lamps being screwed into the wall and said to the workman 'surely you're not putting that up.'

"I don't understand why this has been allowed. It would make sense to have old-fashioned lighting."

But Worcester City's senior engineer for capital projects Graham Vass said the modern design of the lighting complemented the modern buildings at that end of Friar street.

"An alternative, old-fashioned design would have meant installing lots of lighting high up," he said.

"The lighting equipment is to be painted as soon as possible so it blends in with the background."

He said the city council's principal conservation officer, Will Scott, had been consulted and given his approval.