He invented equipment that would go onto save countless lives at sea and put Helston in the history books, but until recently many people did not even realise the town had a memorial to Henry Trengrouse.

All that has now changed thanks to the volunteers of Helston in Bloom, who have redeveloped an area at the top of Trengrouse Way and added a new plaque that has now been unveiled by a distant relative of the inventor, who developed the ‘Rocket’ life-saving apparatus - an early form of the Breeches buoy.

Sarah Corbridge's father is the great-great-great-great-grandson of Trengrouse and she was on hand to unveil the plaque, which she and husband Adam - with whom she owns Wearnes jewellers - funded, along with a cherry tree and some bushes that will be planted when the weather improves.

Justine Hornsby, chair of Helston in Bloom, said: "The memorial was looking in a bit of a sad state. There was originally a brass plaque that many years ago was stolen. A plywood plaque had been put in its place and wasn't fitting of a memorial garden.

"The funding paid for an appropriately sized plaque to go into the recess of the stone memorial there."

Members of Helston in Bloom and town councillors were invited to the unveiling, along with the Henry Trengrouse Day group from the Blue Anchor pub, which remembers the life and work of the inventor each year on the Sunday closest to his birthday of March 18.

This year the two events were held to coincide and after the unveiling ceremony at the memorial the whole party moved down to the Blue Anchor for singing and extracts from a history provided by town historian Martin Matthews.

"It was a really, really lovely day," added Ms Hornsby.