Hundreds join campaign to save Shropshire museums
More than 500 people have signed up to a social media campaign to keep Shropshire's museums open.
Facebook page Save Shropshire's Museums has been launched in response to Shropshire Council announcing it will cut the £800,000 museum and tourism budget to zero in 2017/18.
The page has already received more than 500 likes and numerous messages and comments to support its cause.
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A post on the site says: "This page was set up to bring together people who care about the future of Shropshire's museums – friends, groups, volunteers, service users and those who just care about Shropshire heritage.
"Shropshire museum staff not only run Shropshire Council's museums, they provide professional support and advice to the many small voluntary run museums in our market towns such as Oswestry Town Museum.
"Shropshire museums care for more than 300,000 objects. These collections have been built up, mainly through public donations, over 180 years. Some of these collections are nationally important with over 3,000 objects every year being used by researchers and students."
It added: "Losing our museums would not only damage the county's tourism offer but make Shropshire a far less attractive place for people to live and work."
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One supporter, Mark Hignett, posted: "Oswestry Town Museum simply wouldn't exist if it wasn't for the support and expertise of all of the staff at Shropshire Museum Service, if they go, what hope for small independent museums?"
Emily Zaadstra added: "Shropshire Museum Service has made a real difference and shaped me as a person."
Fay Bailey said: "Help us to continue to inspire and educate with our collections and beautiful spaces."
Cerise Good added: "Amazing museums, managed and run well and efficiently but if local government is starved of funding how can they be preserved?"
Paul Francis said: "Just like libraries – part of the heritage we take for granted but very much at risk. What really matters is how hard will we fight to keep it?"
