The company which owns the iconic Winter Hill mast has moved to reassure residents after the red lights illuminating the transmitting station went out.

Residents noticed the warning lights  - which can be seen for miles - had 'switched off' on Saturday night.

Smithills resident Victoria Robinson, 53, noticed the  'blackout' at around 11pm and quickly alerted the owners.

She said: “I went out the back of my house at 11:00 pm and the mast was completely black.

 “I thought if there was any sort of [aeroplane] crash I would have that on my conscience.”

(Image: Ismail Bargit)

Victoria called Arqiva, the telecommunications company that owns Winter Hill Mast.

She said: “They were shocked that no one else had phoned and that they would get the crews out. I went outside at 4:00 AM and the lights were still out.”

Arqiva has confirmed that the aircraft warning lights were off for six hours from 11:00 pm on Saturday.

A spokesperson for Arqiva said: “Engineers attended the site and resolved the issue and the lights activated as normal at dusk on Sunday.

“As soon as we were made aware of the fault, we immediately initiated our protocols and contacted the relevant CAA authority.

“The CAA are responsible for advising local airports that the warning lights are off so they can take whatever action they deem necessary.”

The spokesperson said: “We’d like to reassure the public that all of our masts are marked on air traffic control flight maps.

“This ensures aircraft flight paths are planned accordingly, avoiding the area. Our aircraft warning lights act as a secondary warning measure only.”

“The warning lights are monitored via a telemetry system which is checked regularly by our 24/7 operations team.”

Winter Hill Mast is famously the highest television transmitter in Britain. stands at 309.5 metres

It provides TV and radio coverage from key providers like the BBC and Channel 4 to 7 million people. This covers Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Stoke.