Helston missed out on a visit from the mighty Man Engine - and the thousands of visitors this would have brought to the town - because the town council turned down his invitation.

The Helston Packet can reveal that the team behind the ten-metre tall mechanical puppet of a tin miner, which was created to celebrate Cornwall's mining heritage, had contacted the town council back in March asking whether they could include Helston within their tour.

The puppet, the largest to ever be constructed in Britain, has just completed a 130-mile journey across Devon and Cornwall, stopping at 22 arranged locations on the way including Truro, Redruth and Camborne, ending with Geevor Tin Mine on Saturday.

It was to mark the tenth anniversary of the Cornish mining landscape being added as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, ranking it alongside the likes of the Taj Mahal and the Great Wall of China.

More than 150,000 people are estimated to have turned out to see the spectacle - with 20,000 people in Penzance alone on Friday - boosting the economy of each area visited.

However, when Helston Town Council's amenities committee was asked to consider the Man Engine's request to visit, members unanimously decided they did not support hosting him for the fee requested.

The committee had been asked for a contribution of between £1,000 and £5,000 but after debating the matter, Gillian Geer - then deputy mayor - proposed no further action, which was seconded by committee vice chair Nicola Boase and supported by all the members there.

The minutes from this meeting were subsequently received by the full council.

Although not specifically part of the Cornish Mining World Heritage Site, Helston is just two miles from the edge of the Wendron Mining District and the town's own history is heavily reflected in the industry.

Helston's Coinagehall Street is so named because it was home to the Coinage Hall, used to assay the tin brought up from the surrounding mines for its ingredients and quality.

A Charter granted in 1305 made Helston one of Cornwall's five Coinage Towns and as a result made it very prosperous.

Only last month the life of Humphry Millet Grylls was celebrated, recognising his work in keeping the nearby Wheal Vor mines open at a time of recession, saving the jobs of countless residents in the town.

Jonathan Radford-Gaby, chairman of the amenities committee, said there were two reasons the committee took the decision to decline the invitation for Helston to host.

"One was that there wasn't any choice in the matter - it was a Wednesday afternoon we were offered, which is traditionally the quietest day in Helston by some distance.

"Also, I think the outcry would have been deafening if we had spent a four-figure sum of council tax payers' money on having the Man Engine in town.

"I think many people would have enjoyed it and it looks great fun, but at the same time I don't think Helston taxpayers' would have wanted to fund it.

"We were just told it was a large puppet and the information was very sketchy at the time.

"In terms of value for money to the council tax payers and in terms of not wishing to spend money which frankly we haven't got, I stand by the decision we made."

He added that a number of the towns where the Man Engine visited were business improvement districts - something that the people of Helston decided they did not want to become.

"Our businesses took the decision not to proceed with the BID project, which is obviously fine, but it's just that sort of thing that's paid for by the BID money. Unfortunately you can't have your cake and eat it," he said.

The Man Engine is now set to embark on a worldwide tour taking in Mexico, South Australia and South Africa - all areas of the globe where Cornish miners set sail to.

Engineered in Cornwall, it weighs almost 40 tonnes with its accompanying vehicle and is the same height as a double-decker bus when in 'crawling' mode - before becoming almost three times that height when it transforms itself into standing position.