TORQUAY Museum's Titanic exhibition has been hailed a huge success, with more than 10,000 people turning out to see its rare artifacts.

Museum staff were run off their feet as they looked after the massive influx of visitors, and the interest was increased after the exhibition received national publicity.

A series of Herald Express stories about South Devon relatives of people aboard the ill-fated ship caught the public imagination, with many other newspapers across Britain picking up on the stories.

As well as the many Titanic-related items included in the exhibition, there was clothing worn by Leonardo DeCaprio and Kate Winslet in the blockbuster movie.

To end the exhibition on a high note, the museum allowed women visitors to be photographed wearing a necklace based on the one worn by Winslet (pictured).

Ros Palmer, museum director, said: "We're absolutely delighted by the success of its Titanic exhibition, which has really captured the imagination of visitors.

"We knew there were Torbay residents whose relatives had connections with the Titanic, so we decided to try and track down some more Devonians with Titanic links.

"Little did we imagine how many people with incredible stories would come forward, including the niece of Robert Hitchens, a Torquay resident who was the quartermaster at the wheel of the Titanic when it struck the iceberg.

"Around 10,000 people came to see the exhibition in the past three months, an increase in visitor numbers to the museum of 45 per cent compared to the same period last year.

"The Titanic exhibition is the first of what we hope will be an annual blockbuster exhibition at Torquay Museum, in which we will showcase a diverse range of subjects, fulfilling the promise of the recent £1million investment in the museum by the Heritage Lottery Fund."