Airport responsible for considerable light pollution in Sussex

Outside London, Crawley is the sixth-brightest district based on average light levels, largely caused by the nearby airport.

Meanwhile the Wealden area is in the top 20 least light-polluted regions.

And the South Downs National Park, which was recently awarded special status as an International Dark Sky Reserve, is revealed to have considerable light pollution encroaching into its southern border.

The findings were published by the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England this morning [MONDAY] with interactive maps displaying colour-coded light levels as captured by satellite at 1.30am throughout last September.

A spokeswoman for the South Downs National Park said: “We’ve just been awarded International Dark Sky Reserve status because we have these amazing dark spaces right in the heart of the National Park, but very close to urban areas.

“We have over 2 million people around the edges of the park.

“We may not be the darkest, but we are the most accessible so all those people can visit.

“And now we’ve got the status we are going to use it to make sure any areas of dark skies which are threatened are safeguarded for the future.”

Andy Lawes from Bexhill, chairman of the East Sussex Astronomical Society, said: “As one of the leading Astronomical Societies in the South of England we are very aware of the problems of light pollution which is encroaching on our night skies more and more.

“With the ever increasing building projects that are continuing to take our greenbelt away the night sky is becoming even less visible to our future generations

“Thankfully we have a good relationship with our council and can get certain lights turned off for special observing sessions.

“Most councils are now bound by law to make sure all lighting complies to standards that will help keep the night sky visible to all those who want to discover the beauty of our universe.”

To see the full reports and interactive maps go to nightblight.cpre.org.uk.