She has worked for some of the best museums and galleries in the UK and now Annette MacTavish is turning her expertise to Helston Museum.

Scottish-born Annette has been appointed as director of the museum, following the departure of former curator Katherine Ashton in February, for family reasons.

Annette has visited the museum many times with her children, who she said "love it" there, and was now "privileged" to be overseeing its future.

She moved to Cornwall three years ago with her husband and two children, and said of her new position: "I'm really pleased to be here. It's an absolute privilege to be part of the story of Helston Museum.

"The past curators and people looking after it have done such an amazing job. I feel really privileged to be here to take the story forward at a really exciting point with the museum. There are a lot of things happening."

Most recently Annette has been working at Tate St Ives part-time as a heritage learning curator and also for the Cornwall Museum Partnership, with her CV also including stints at the National Museums of Scotland and the Florence Nightingale Museum in London amongst others.

"I think we're really privileged here because it's a museum that's still free for people to come and visit. I know as a parent it's a real luxury to be able to take your children somewhere regularly. I want Helston Museum to still feel like a home for people," she said.

Annette said she was looking forward to continuing to work with other organisations in the town such as CAST and developing joint activities even further, adding: "There's lots of really good volunteers in the town that we're hoping to connect with. We already have good partnerships so I think it's just making more space to do those projects."

She hoped to help give Helston the same "energy" as it used to have as a bustling market town.

"There really is something for everybody. I would defy anybody to come in and not find something they're interested in. We have got fantastic costumes, fantastic prints, the social history, the photographs - there's not really anything that Helston Museum doesn't have," she added.