A museum is appealing for urgent funding for maintenance work to its Grade II listed building.

Diss Museum, in Market Place, needs to raise between �8,000 and �9,000 for repairs to be carried out to the pillars and roof, which are suffering the effects of years of wear and tear.

Museum manager Basil Abbott said the work had cost more than he was expecting because the work to the pillars and roof was a major job needing specialist attention.

He added: 'The pillars are not in danger of collapsing at the moment, but they are in a very bad condition and could become dangerous.

'It is a Victorian building and it has not had much done to it recently and it needs work to the pillars and roof, the first major renovation that is needed.'

The museum receives a grant from Diss Town Council and the Friends of the Museum, but this is not sufficient to cover the cost of the maintenance work.

Mr Abbott hoped to raise money for the museum project from a workshop involving the Tashi Lhunpo monks from Tibet at the town's Corn Hall theatre on October 25, starting at 7.30pm.

Under the terms of the museum's lease the building should have an overall maintenance every three years, but this has been extended to a fourth year.

Displays on show include the history of Thomas Manning and his family. He was the first Englishman to interview the Dalai Lama and the first to visit Lhasa in Tibet.

Other artefacts include Roman pottery and thatching.

The museum used to be two butchers shops, before becoming a museum in the 1990s.

During the summer, the tourist attraction opens on Wednesday and Thursday between 2pm and 4pm and on Friday and Saturday between 10am and 4pm, though it is set to close at the end of this month for the winter season.

Anyonw wishing to donate to the museum appeal can do so at the museum or to Cyril Grace, the museum's treasurer.