Park lighting would increase the amount of crime and attract more muggers to Blackbird Leys, according to a police report on improving safety.

Residents living next to Gillians Park responded to an Oxford City Council questionnaire and asked for extra path lighting to scare away muggers.

But unaudited police figures show that although Gillians Park has suffered eight crimes including theft, assault, robbery and public disorder offences this year, only two happened after dark.

Crime prevention design advisers fear adding extra lighting would result in more walkers using unsafe routes through the park, which could increase the likelihood of attacks.

Extra lighting was the third most requested improvement in a council survey of residents in August about how to spend £42,000 earmarked for improvements to the park.

Roger Hampshire, Thames Valley Police crime prevention design adviser, said: "The paths used by the majority of people are illuminated quite well. The suggestion that the other paths may be safer if lit may be true in theory, but in practice you would then disperse the people using them.

"Less people at a different number of routes haven't got the safety in numbers factor.

"If you lit every route there would be more chance of crimes occurring. We would rather people walk across the well-lit paths and feel safe there. It's safe as it is now."

Two main paths through Gillians Park are lit to Oxfordshire County Council highways standards.

A Friends of Gillians Park group is being set up, and the city council is drawing up designs for refurbishing play areas and consulting with police and street wardens on how to spend the extra cash.

But on the advice of police the city council will not spend any of the money on extra lighting in the park.

County councillor Val Smith, who lives next to the park, said: "It would be impossible to light the whole of Gillians Park because it is too big. We need a couple of walkways that are really safe and well illuminated.

"There may be a case for making them designated footpaths and putting fencing around it so people don't roam off to other areas of the park."

Patrick Stannard, chairman of the Leys Residents Association, said: "I'm not entirely convinced the police are right because it would be better if there were more lights across the park.

"But I'm not convinced they are wrong either because I don't think many people use the park at night."