THE garden at Portland Museum made an ideal setting for a party held to celebrate the handover of the museum from Weymouth and Portland Borough Council to the Portland Museum Trust.

Chairman Trevor Primett and the board of trustees, which includes borough mayor David Harris, welcomed more than 50 guests individually.

Among these were deputy town mayor Sandie West, borough council chief executive Tom Grainger, borough and town councillors, chairman John Culley and Friends of Portland Musuem, representatives of the Association for Portland Archaeology, museum volunteers and members of the public.

Mr Primett told the gathering: "This is a cause for celebration as Portland Museum now belongs to the island community and is run by an independent trust.

"The commercial side has been completed and we can plan for the future of the museum and for this, we are hoping that volunteers will come forward to help with the day-to-day tasks that are required."

All skills will be welcomed, even if the volunteer can only spare a couple of hours as needed.