THE Wedgwood Museum has scooped the £100,000 Art Fund Prize.

Experts believe it will not only benefit the £10 million museum, but the wider Staffordshire tourism industry as well.

Last night, an illustrious panel of judges said that the Barlaston museum, which is run by an independent trust, is worthy of Britain’s biggest arts prize.

Film producer David Puttnam, who chaired the panel, said: In every respect it fully meets our criteria of what a 21st Century museum should aspire to be.""This Museum is extraordinary for so many reasons and we were all but unanimous in our decision.

"The Wedgwood Museum brilliantly highlights the marriage of art, design, manufacturing and commerce; a marriage that resonates more today than at possibly any time in the intervening years."

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Museum director Gaye Blake Roberts, pictured, said: "It is not only a tribute to the museum, the staff, the volunteers and the trustees, but to everyone who has supported and voted for us.

"It has been one of the most exciting evenings you could experience."

The prize money is expected to come through within days and will go towards funding the next phase of the museum’s development.

And the winner’s enamel and silver bowl will also be coming up to Barlaston and should be on displayarriving within the week.

Miss Blake Roberts added: "The award will undoubtedly get more people into the museum because it is the most prestigious prize museums can have."

"The publicity will mean we have more footfall through the doors and I would encourage everyone in north Staffordshire who has not been to come and see what is now a universally acclaimed museum."

Wedgwood Museum Trust chairman George Stonier said: "It is the best accolade anyone could give for 10 years’ hard work and to everyone who has been involved.

"We have had an enormous number of fantastic comments while in London from a large swathe of the Arts establishment who think that what we have created in Stoke-on-Trent is absolutely world class." They were completely blown away by it all and that is a real accolade for Stoke-on-Trent."

For the first time this year, the public had its say on the prize, with more than 27,000 people taking part in an online poll.

An investigation was launched following ‘voting irregularities’ and the Wedgwood Museum emerged the clear victor, taking 61 per cent of the vote and, subsequently, an additional ‘vote’ on the judging panel.

The museum opened to the public last October and contains much of the trust’s 8,000-strong ceramics collection, its 75,000 manuscripts and fine art collection. It was expected to attract an extra 100,000 visitors a year to Staffordshire, and tourism experts believe that last night’s victory will go some way in helping it achieve this target.

Graeme Whitehead, tourism and marketing team leader at Destination Staffordshire, said: "The public relations spin-off will be really significant for Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire as a whole. It will give the area a credibility in the wider public mind that can only be very, very helpful."

The other three shortlisted museums were the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow, Orleans House Gallery in Twickenham, and Ruthin Craft Centre in North Wales.

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