Tributes have been paid to the curator of Helston Museum who has left after three and a half years at the helm.

Katherine Ashton worked her last day on Friday after resigning for family reasons and moving back to Lincolnshire.

During her time at the museum she has overseen its development into a thriving tourist attraction that has more than doubled its visitor numbers since the South Kerrier Heritage Trust took over its management in 2013.

Together with assistant curator Tracey Clowes, who was appointed at the same time and who left the museum in December also, coincidentally, for family reasons, Ms Ashton organised talks, exhibitions and a series of popular family activities that set the museum up for its next stage of expansion.

It is currently bidding for funding to raise its profile to put it alongside the likes of the National Maritime Museum at Falmouth and the Telegraph Museum at Porthcurno.

Judith Haycock, chair of the South Kerrier Heritage Trust, said: "It was a great shame that Katherine had to leave after three and a half years, but we fully understand her reasons why.

"In those three and a half years the museum has gone from strength to strength. We have lots of exciting things planned for the future."

As such the museum has been advertising for a director this time around, with the closing date for applications ending Tuesday. Interviews are expected to take place at the end of this month, with the aim of having someone in post by Easter.

In the interim the trustees are taking a more hands on role in the running of the museum, with fundraising officer Simon Hamilton, marketing and events coordinator Rosie Kliskey and digitisation officer Karen Bell also overseeing operations on a day-to-day basis.

Before joining Helston Museum, Ms Ashton had worked as education and outreach officer at Penlee House Museum in Penzance for previous last three years, and had held roles of collections officer, project officer and archivist in the past.