Plans to close the Fylde coast's only museum in a bid to save cash have been branded as "astonishing" by tourism leaders.

Lancashire County Council (LCC) finance directors have proposed closing Fleetwood Museum, which attracted a record 15,000 visitors last year, to save £100,000 annual running costs.

County bosses, currently setting this year's budget, claim this cash, plus an estimated £150,000 needed to maintain and modernise the site over the next two years, could be used to limit council tax rises.

The building in Victorian Old Customs House, Dock Street is leased from Wyre Borough Council, and employs four staff.

Its exhibits include exhibitions on the life of the port's fishermen and information on local sea life. It also owns the trawler Harriet, which dates back to 1893 and was the last wooden-hulled trawler to fish out of Fleetwood.

The museum (right) attracted large crowds last October for a weekend of events marking the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar.

Wyre Council living economy portfolio holder and LCC member, Cllr Keith Tebbs, says savings made by closing the site are "tiny". He is urging other county cabinet members to veto the proposal.

Cllr Tebbs said: "After the decimation of the fishing industry, the museum is one of the last links we have left to Fleetwood's history.

"It's also played a huge part in inspiring the interest among the many thousands of tourists who visit Fleetwood and the Fylde coast year on year.

"As for relocating the artefacts, if you were to put the Harriet trawler into any other town or city then it loses its significance and becomes just an old boat.

"Not to mention the very real prospect that the cost of some of the works of art and other pieces will need to be reimbursed to whichever organisation invested the cash to buy them in the first place.

"A closure would also have an extremely worrying effect on tourism in the area. What town can afford to lose a potential 15,000 tourists a year?

"Plus, should LCC break the terms of its lease on the building, they could be liable for lost rent and still have to carry-out repairs at the site.

"Both the financial and cultural benefits of keeping the museum up-and-running by far outweigh the savings made by closing it down."

Wyre's head of leisure, cultural and tourist services, Tom Pridmore added: "We would be disappointed if Fleetwood Museum was closed because it is an important element of the tourism world in Fleetwood and within Wyre."

The county's adult and community services cabinet member, County Cllr Chris Cheetham, is considering a report which is to be discussed at a cabinet meeting on January 26.

He said: "This year's budget will be particularly difficult for the council and cabinet members have been asked to find significant savings to limit any increase in council tax.

"Closing a museum may seem like a drastic action but, although it is very difficult to accept, is something I have to consider due to the level of financial pressure.

"The building is in need of a great deal of investment and the council simply does not have the money needed for such a project.

"If the difficult decision is taken to close the museum, I will be talking to other agencies to do everything I can to secure the heritage contained within it.

"It would be with a very heavy heart that I would make such a recommendation but I have to carefully consider this in the light of the alternatives.