Getting on the bus isn’t usually the most exciting part of anyone’s day, but they do say absence makes the heart grow fonder.

People have finally been able to hop on a bus in Dering Way, Gravesend, four months after Arriva pulled its 190 Chatham Maritime to Gravesend service from the route because drivers were being targeted by vandals with catapults and air rifles.

Around 200 drivers signed a petition refusing to go down there, leaving regular users, many of them elderly, facing a 10-minute walk to get to the nearest alternative stop.

But after several meetings between police, ward councillors, Arriva, and Gravesham council’s community safety unit, an agreement was reached to bring the bus back to Dering Way for the first time since October 23.

However, the operator warned it will pull the service from Dering Way if the problems return.

A flyer handed out to residents says measures to help ensure the future of Service 190 on Dering Way includes a visible police presence and CCTV cameras.

Any ideas to help prevent vandalism and safeguard the service can be sent in confidence to Cllr Lyn Milner on lyn.milner@gravesham.gov.uk