A main route through a town centre has been reopened following a month-long road closure.

Milton Road and Queen Street in Gravesend was closed on May 26 following a major blaze which caused a Grade II listed building to collapse.

The closure was not expected to be lifted until July 6 but as of yesterday evening it was back open.

Gravesham council confirmed work was being carried out to remove the bulk of the material that had fallen into the street.

It comes after business owners worried they could go bankrupt in the next few weeks as trade almost vanished from the area due to the lack of access.

Traffic is now able to pass through Milton Road and the surrounding streets and buses have returned to their usual route down King Street from this morning.

There are still green hoardings up around the former New Inn pub - which went up in flames in May and almost completely collapsed into the street - as work continues.

Barriers also still remain up around Pender Pharmacy – which has been hit by a number of break-ins – and neighbouring business.

Roadworks are still ongoing.