A Christmas lights display in West Malling has been given the go ahead thanks to the efforts of a community pulling out all the stops.

After residents in the town heard the lights were unable to go up this year due to a lack of funds brought on by the pandemic, a community fundraiser was set up to gather the £10,000 needed bring joy back to the high street.

After just 11 days, the total has hit £6,800 which is enough to give the instillation the green light in time for Christmas.

The rest of the money for the project is still needed by January.

Usually businesses chip in for a switch-on event organised by the chamber of commerce, but the organisation said it had made the difficult decision not to ask for the funds due to the financial climate.

Instead the fundraising page, spearheaded by Hannah Rose, a manger at Rose's Coffee and Juice in the high street, was set up in a matter of days.

The 23-year-old, whose brother Marcus opened the café 11 weeks ago, said she has been blown away by everyone's generosity.

Julia Smith the secretary of the chamber of commerce said she is delighted by the milestone and has been working hard to get the lights up as soon as possible.

She said: "The response from the community has been incredible and very heartwarming, a true reflection of the strong community spirit in West Malling.

"We have given the installation company the go ahead but we're still working on the logistics of it all so we don't know when it will be yet."

Any money above the total will be reinvested into the chamber of commerce and next year’s Christmas light's display.

To donate to the cause, click here.

Read more: All the latest news from Malling