THERE will be a self-imposed black-out in Wallingford – but don’t worry, there isn’t a war on.

Families are being urged to switch off lights and turn off unnecessary appliances as part of a home-grown scheme to cut carbon dioxide emissions.

Campaigners from action group Sustainable Wallingford have joined an initiative, called the Greening Campaign, which was first launched in Petersfield, Hampshire, in 2007, with the aim of helping to combat climate change.

Eighty villages and towns in England have now joined the campaign and Wallingford will be the first in Oxfordshire to be added to the list.

The aim is to encourage as many households, businesses and community groups as possible to commit to a number of energy-saving pledges.

Every household in Wallingford will receive a card listing the pledges to display in their window if they want to join the initiative.

John Gordon, of Sustainable Wallingford, said: “We hope to get hundreds of pledge cards displayed in the front windows and then volunteers will count them.

“Then we will add up what the pledges amount to in terms of how much energy has been saved.

“The idea is to display it on a big sign somewhere in the town.

“It would be doing things like putting a brick in the toilet to reduce the water flow and turning off items that have the standby device and, in winter, turning down the thermostat and wearing a thicker jumper.

“By encouraging people to get involved we hope it will lead to Wallingford becoming a much greener and more sustainable community.”

Organiser Jacinta Thorley, who is preparing plans to launch the campaign in October, said: “We know climate change has concerned many of our residents for some time now and we thought it was time that we acted together to make some small changes that will make a big difference.

“This is why we’re starting Greening Wallingford.”

Last year, Sustainable Wallingford surveyed hundreds of households in the townand discovered that most people said they would commit to cutting carbon levels if they felt they were part of a wider community effort across the town.

For more information go to www.sustainablewallingford.org