THE GRAND reopening of a west Cumbrian museum took place on Friday after a £220,000 grant from Allerdale Borough Council was spent on developing a disabled access entrance and toilet block.

The Helena Thompson Museum in Workington was fully reopened by local leaders.

Mayor of Allerdale Malcolm Grainger and leader of Allerdale Borough Council Mike Johnson cut the ribbon outside the new disabled access ramp. Councillor Grainger cut the ribbon to open the new toilet block.

Curator Patricia Poole who puts hours of work into the museum along with Steven Jones said: “The money that was used for this was for a garden room about 20 years ago now bids got put in but it never got down.”

Chairman of Workington Heritage Group Tony Waring thanked Allerdale Borough Council for their support.

“It gives us a bit of confidence that you’ve got confidence in us.”

MP for Workington Mark Jenkinson was in attendance to see the important moment.

He said: “I was actually here for seven years as a director I sat down when I joined the executive on Allerdale council. It’s a fantastic facility, we’ve seen it grow over that time there’s been a lot of investment.”

Mayor of Allerdale Malcolm Grainger paid tribute to Steven and Patricia’s hard work.

“They’ve got this award, an MBE from The Queen, it’s due to her hard work, she is a hard worker.”

The museum’s longest serving volunteer, Doris Feeney was in attendance to see the important moment.