An online appeal has already reached its target to pay for festive lights in a Kent town famed for its links to “the man who reinvented Christmas”.

The Rochester City Centre Forum has launched the fundraiser days after Medway Council announced it would be axing funding for displays across the Towns.

Those behind the Crowdfunder appeal say they felt compelled to act following the authority’s “sad and difficult decision”.

“In Rochester – the place where a five-year-old Charles Dickens fell in love with the ‘most wonderful time of the year’ – we CANNOT allow this to happen,” they said.

“The Christmas we all celebrate today is thanks to our associations with the ‘the man who reinvented Christmas’.”

Cash-strapped Medway Council has pulled its festive lights funding from five towns to save £75,000 a year.

The authority’s leader, Vince Maple, says action had to be taken given the “challenging financial situation the council is in”.

But in Rochester, the City Centre Forum says it wants to ensure the town can “give all of us a focal point at the time of ‘Goodwill To All’ for many years to come”.

Organsiers add they have just two weeks to collect the money to cover the costs of installing the existing lights and running them.

They also want to buy strings of lights to weave across Rochester High Street from one end to the other.

A fund will be set up to “extend and modernise the lighting provision, and maintain it into the future”, they add.

The Forum kicked off the appeal with a £1,000 donation, enocuraging local organisations, businesses and residents to be as generous as they can.

And already the money has poured in, with the £12,500 target raised in 16 hours after the appeal was launched late last night – and continuing to grow.

The Forum said: “We want to encourage as many members of the public – whether you’re a local resident or a visitor who loves Rochester especially at Christmas time – to contribute whatever you can afford – from as little as ONE POUND!

“ALL – and we do mean ALL – contributors will have the opportunity to have their involvement recognised on a ‘Board of Contributors’ so everyone visiting Rochester can see just how many of you are behind this.

“So, it’s over to YOU. If you love Rochester, and want see the same sense of wonder on the faces of children in the same way that Charles Dickens felt over 200 years ago, please help us by contributing to the Rochester Christmas Lights Legacy Fund.”