Police in Maldon could be coming over all Dixon of Dock Green if plans to install an old-fashioned blue gaslight get the go-ahead.

A scheme to plant a tree as part of improvement works in West Square was thwarted by a mystery underground pit.

Now Maldon District Council is considering what else could form a centrepiece for the new extended area of pavement and one idea being discussed is putting in an antique lamp.

Landscaping officer Nigel Cowling said staff were trying to confirm with historians a story that Maldon was the last place in the country to have working gaslights.

A lamp just around the corner from West Square was still connected as late as the 1970s and was even put to use during the long-running blackouts resulting from industrial action.

Mr Cowling said if the tale could be verified, the council might decide to celebrate the unusual claim to fame by installing one of the lights at the police station site.

Published Wednesday, April 23, 2003

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