Summer may have come to an end but Gravesend will continue to bask in bright light as the county council finalises the restoration of the town’s streetlights.

Kent County Council decided to turn off streetlights for several hours across the county in 2014, but the cost-cutting move was met with widespread opposition.

At a council meeting in February it was decided that LED technology, which is cheaper to run, would instead be used to light the roads, some of which were plunged into darkness between midnight and 6.30am each day.

Campaigner Tina Brooker fought KCC’s original plans and is delighted to see the lights begin to come back on, with all of Gravesend set to be completed by the end of the month.

She said: “They have done my road and it’s absolutely brilliant. I am a commuter so I get up at 5.50am and it’s lovely to be able to walk around and see where you’re going.”

Miss Brooker’s battle was supported by the Messenger’s own Let There Be Light campaign.

“I would like to thank the Messenger because if you hadn’t done all those articles I don’t think the lights would have been turned back on” Tina Brooker

“I would like to thank the Messenger because if you hadn’t done all those articles I don’t think the lights would have been turned back on,” said Miss Brooker, who lives in The Hill.

“The council was adamant that they wouldn’t be turned on and I never thought we would get here.

“They’re still turning them off all over the country, so I think it’s a massive deal to get them turned round.

“I know they are fighting the council in Essex at the moment and I don’t think they’re getting anywhere. What we’ve done is amazing and it shows the power of the press.”

Miss Brooker also received strong support from other residents across Gravesham and the rest of Kent, as well as organisations such as personal safety charity The Suzy Lamplugh Trust.

The Messenger exclusively revealed last year that, although consulted by KCC about the scheme, Kent Police told officers it could not support the plan to turn off the lights.

Motoring organisation the AA said adopting such initiatives could be at the cost of injuries or even lives.

KCC has said that all residential areas across the county will have the new lighting fitted by May 2017, followed by town centres and main roads.

All work will be completed by May 2019.