Bristol city council has halted a programme of removing old lamp-posts from a street after neighbours expressed suspicions that they were being transferred to more upmarket areas.

Residents of Beckington Road in south Bristol were aghast when workers took down their beloved wrought-iron lamp-posts and told them they were being replaced with more modern versions. Some suspected they would be moved to leafy Clifton on the other side of the city.

Penny Docker, 77, who has lived on the road since 1964, said the contractors told her the lamp-posts would be refurbished and moved elsewhere.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A street market in Clifton, Bristol. Photograph: Alamy

“If I found out they had been moved to Clifton, I would be very cross because if they can be refurbished and replaced elsewhere, why not in our road?” she said. “The thing that made me cross is that no one said the lamp-posts would be changed. We would be upset but at least we would have been made aware in advance.”

One woman, who asked to remain anonymous, claimed those living in the area were treated as “second-class citizens”.

She said: “They are removing our beautiful, original 1930s street lights and replacing them with black poles. We haven’t been consulted on this at all. They are absolutely beautiful and we’ve been told by the contractors they are actually moving them to somewhere else in Bristol.

“This reminds me of the 1980s and 1990s, when parts of Bristol were basically historically asset-stripped and everything was sent to north Bristol in order to make Clifton look lovely.

“Bristol city council should be ashamed of themselves. We don’t have much left in south Bristol, in terms of history, to be proud of.”

As a result of the outcry, the council thought again. It did not explain what its intention had been. But a spokesperson said: “We have suspended the streetlight replacement programme while we fully explore its consequences.

“For decades, many areas of Bristol have lost their older lamp-posts while some areas have retained them. We intend to have a policy that ensures all areas are treated equally.”