Once again the time for longer nights and shorter days is upon us, as at 2am tomorrow the clocks will be wound back an hour.

For some, this signals a welcome extra hour in bed, but despite a history more than a century long, the daylight saving technique still prompts mixed views.

The system whereby the country winds clocks forward an hour in spring and back again at the end of autumn was introduced in 1905 — but was only made a fixture in England after the First World War, to give farmers more time to work the land in the light.

Last night, Oxford's residents, politicians and farmers gave mixed opinions on whether the tradition is relevant today.

Dr Evan Harris, MP for Oxford West and Abingdon, supports changing to a system called double summer time, which would make the evenings lighter.

He said: "It would be much more sensible to have a situation where it doesn't get dark in the afternoon and people can make more use out of lighter evenings.

"Most importantly there would be fewer accidents on the road."

The county's farmers were also baffled as to why England carried on the tradition, when other countries have abandoned it.

Guy Hildred, a farmer from Ipsden, near Wallingford, said: "I don't think it's relevant. It just makes things difficult. We don't really need the extra hour in the summer, as it's already light in the evenings.

"And in the winter the extra hour in the morning doesn't help, because we still start at the same time."

Peter Cox, a farmer in Launton, near Bicester, said the extra hour was irrelevant to him.

He added: "Because of electric light now, if the evenings get darker, it doesn't really make a difference to us. But for people making hay, which is quite uncommon these days, the later evenings mean they can end up working further into the night."

Alex Hall, from Witney said she found the darker evenings depressing.

She added: "You end up wishing half your life away waiting for the summer to start again."

Caroline Cooper, from Marston, said: "It's one of the quirks that we have over here isn't it?

"To be honest I never know when I'm supposed to be changing it, I always forget. It is harder to get up in the dark, you feel more awake when the mornings are lighter. "But I suppose sometimes it can be quite nice to draw the curtains in the winter and just relax in the evenings."