OKEHAMPTON?s Museum of Dartmoor Life received a fantastic Christmas boost last week with the news of a bumper grant from European funds.

The £240,000 award means the museum can go ahead with the biggest programme of improvements in its history.

Maurie Webber, the museum?s curator, said it was ?incredible? that it had taken just one year to meet the matched funding target, enabling the museum to utilise the £261,500 Lottery grant awarded last year.

The latest award has come from the Objective 2?s Investing in Rural Tourism programme.

Ms Webber said: ?It?s absolutely wonderful, it?s quite an extraordinary achievement.

?The money is to be set against a major expansion, a capital works programme to improve and redevelop the museum.

?There have been a number of expansions but this is certainly the biggest and most major ? and it?s not just for the museum itself, but for the town and the community.?

The £600,000 project, which is likely to take approximately nine months to complete, will include a new state-of-the-art exhibition gallery, new specifically equipped public research room, improved access to all parts of the building, installation of a lift, an up-to-date security and fire system, central heating and lighting system and provision of toilets for staff and visitors.

Ms Webber said the research side of the museum, which already attracts considerable numbers of people, would also be expanded and improved. There will be a computer link between the museum and other bodies, such as the Devon Record Office, providing an invaluable resource, both socially and educationally, for Okehampton.

Ms Webber said the next task was to go out to tender for the work, which she hoped would start next year. Vast quantities of exhibits and information will also have to go into storage while the work is undertaken.

Ms Webber said the improvement programme to the building, an agricultural mill, built in 1811 and situated within the town?s conservation area, would be undertaken with great care.

?We want very much to keep the character and ethos of the museum, but obviously we will now be able to go for much bigger exhibitions. One of the reasons we can?t go for regional exhibits at the moment is security,? she said.

?We?ve had great support from the borough council, the national park authority, the town council, the Non-Ecclesiastical Trust, Okehampton and District Disabled Fellowship, the museum council and lots of individuals ? they?ve all made it possible,? said Ms Webber.

Rose Young, chairman of the Dartmoor Museum Association, whose late husband John was founder of the museum, said: ?We just feel incredibly lucky that we?ve achieved it, we can?t believe it really.

?An awful lot of work has gone into it, it?s been like climbing a mountain, but hopefully this will really put the museum on the map. It?s terribly exciting.?

A spokesman for the Government Office South West, which administers Objective 2 grants, said applying for this type of funding was ?very competitive?.

She said having worked with the Museum of Dartmoor Life on its application, the decision to put it forward for strategy group recommendation was ?unanimous?.

Cllr Christine Marsh, mayor of Okehampton, said: ?I?m over the moon. It?s yet another thing that shows confidence in Okehampton. It?s a really positive way to go into the New Year ? it?s very exciting for the town.?