DEVIZES town council has upped its grant to Wiltshire Museum by £1,000 to allow it to run extra events for school children.

Museum director David Dawson put his case for why the grant should go up from £3,000 to £4,000 when the council's community and civic resource committee met.

A strong plea for the additional funds for the museum, which has seen its annual visitor numbers double from 4,000 to 8,000 over the past few years, came from town councillor Andy Johnson.

He said: "It is important for the museum to be able to extend its work with young people." A report to the committee said: "The current concil grant allows the museum to run school events at a discount. The museum is growing in prominence becasue of the hard work of the staf. It brings in £500,000 to the local economy each year."

Mr Dawson explained that the museum was putting on more and more exhibitions of national and international importance which also brought more visitors to the town.

He said that the museum grant from Wiltshire Council had been cut from £35,000 a year to £25,000. Councillor Ian Hopkins said the grant of £3,000 had been static for a number of years and it was time for an increase.

Mr Dawson thanked members after they voted unanimously to increase the grant. Cllr Johnson said after the meeting: "I am delighted the grant was increased.

"We are very lucky to have the museum based in Devizes. It has some wonderful collections and really helps to bring people tourists to the town."