HOYLAKE Lifeboat Museum has closed its doors after funding problems left it unable to meet outgoings.

The museum - which opened in March 2011 - hosted visits from schools and groups from far and wide.

But difficulties in securing funding has left the Trustees in an impossible situation.

A post on the museum's Facebook page said: "We regret that we are having to write to you to inform you of the immediate closure of Hoylake Lifeboat Museum.

"Unfortunately, due to continued problems in securing promised funding to develop part of the museum as a cafe, and thus generate a viable income stream to meet our outgoings, the museum is no longer able to continue to operate and meet those outgoing commitments.

"We would like to thank you for all your support and interest over the past years and assure you that the decision has neither been taken lightly, nor without a great deal of emotion on the part of the Trustees and Committee."

The lifeboat museum has a troubled history.

A community fund-raising campaign to set up the facility was launched in 2010 at the "spiritual home" of Hoylake's proud lifeboat tradition.

The lifeboat station is one of the oldest on the coasts of Great Britain and Ireland, and was founded by the Liverpool Docks Trustees in 1803 and taken over by the RNLI in 1894.

It became surplus to requirements when a new state-of-the-art station near the Hoyle Road end of the promenade became operational.

From the word go, the trustees hoped the museum would be "mainly financially self-supported" although they noted at the time that "other costs" were expected to be around £400,000.

The museum opened its doors to visitors in 2011, but financial difficulties and wrangling over its lease became evident.

A closure crisis was triggered in 2012 when the company which owns the building informed the museum's charity trust it must vacate the premises.

But a last-minute agreement was reached "subject to a few loose ends being tied up" and the crisis was averted.

The trustees were put under pressure again earlier this year when an online "steering group" announced it was attempting to take over the site and turn it into a 120-seat independent cinema and bistro.

The proposal raised eyebrows in the town, not least because the trustees knew nothing about it until they read of it on the internet.

However, it faded as quickly as it had appeared.

Prompted by inquiries from the Globe, Wirral Council revealed the existence of covenant which restricts the use of the land.

A town hall spokesman said: “Wirral Council owns the land, albeit with a covenant held by Peel Holdings, so a release from this would be required from Peel. For these reasons, we are unable to release the land.”

What the future holds for Hoylake's historic lifeboat station is now entirely unclear.