A plea has been made to the conscience of vandals who are costing taxpayers thousands of pounds by repeatedly targeting an Oxford underpass.

New lights costing £5,500 have been installed in the subway between Long Lane in Rose Hill and Peers School, Littlemore, after they were smashed for the 14th time in four years.

The lights, approved by the Home Office, are designed to be tamper-proof and protected against vandals. But since they were first put up in 2002 to increase community safety, they have been damaged, smashed or ripped down - costing more than £10,000 to replace.

Now Littlemore's county councillor, Olive McIntosh-Stedman, is pleading with vandals to stop.

Mrs McIntosh-Stedman said: "These lights are very important to the community and they have now been replaced after all the extensive damage.

"We are relying on the conscience of the public not to vandalise them again.

"They are so expensive to replace and they are important for the community's safety.

"Police are going to give it more of a look, but they cannot be there every second of the day.

"I am pleading to the hearts of whoever is behind this not to do it again, and respect that so much money has been spent for the community."

The lights, which were ripped down three months ago, were replaced last week.

They were originally installed in June, 2002, in the hope they would deter muggers and antisocial behaviour.

But over the following 12 months they were repeatedly damaged, costing the county council £1,500 to replace.

A single attack in June, 2003, caused £4,200 worth of damage. Around 20 per cent of crime reported to police in Oxfordshire is caused by vandals.

Earlier this month lights in an underpass at Ashurst Way in Rose Hill were also damaged.

Anyone who sees the new lights being vandalised, or any residents with information about who is responsible, is asked to contact Thames Valley Police on 08458 505505 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.