A futuristic street light has been installed in a coastal town as part of an innovative trial.

Having appeared in the past couple of weeks on Pakefield cliffs in Lowestoft, the wind and solar powered street lamp has sparked lots of interest.

Lowestoft Journal: The street light installed at Pakefield Cliffs in Lowestoft as part of an ongoing trial, for the ADEPT Live Labs Project. Picture: Mick HowesThe street light installed at Pakefield Cliffs in Lowestoft as part of an ongoing trial, for the ADEPT Live Labs Project. Picture: Mick Howes (Image: Mick Howes)

Its installation forms part of the £4.4m ADEPT SMART Places Live Labs Programme running across Suffolk.

With Suffolk County Council being one of nine local authorities to successfully bid for funding as part of a £22.9m project funded by the Department for Transport, it aims to use its existing street lighting infrastructure to provide a showcase of "innovative technologies" which bring efficiencies to Suffolk now, and others in the future.

A county council spokesman said: "We can confirm that the street light in Lowestoft has been installed as part of an ongoing trial, for the ADEPT Live Labs Project.

"These street lights are being trialled both inland and, on the coast, to enable the project team and the researcher from the University of Suffolk to analyse the data and compare performance in these areas.

"The units benefit from having both wind and solar generation and have the capacity to provide a wi-fi hotspot.

Lowestoft Journal: The street light installed at Pakefield Cliffs in Lowestoft as part of an ongoing trial, for the ADEPT Live Labs Project. Picture: Mick HowesThe street light installed at Pakefield Cliffs in Lowestoft as part of an ongoing trial, for the ADEPT Live Labs Project. Picture: Mick Howes (Image: Mick Howes)

"As the street light has only recently been installed, this is something we will be looking at moving forward, whilst also assessing the remote control and dimming capability."

With the new street light installed next to the old unit - which has had its lantern removed - on the cliffs at Pakefield, data on it’s worth in sunshine and storms will be analysed until the end of the year.

Featuring a small turbine on its underside - allowing it to be wind driven - a number of small solar panels are also included on top of the unit.

With the Suffolk Street Lighting Team also installing a similar street light in Ipswich to test the model in urban areas, the county council spokesman added: "The trial will continue until the end of this year, at which time a decision can be made moving forward."