VISITORS have given the thumbs up to one of the most eagerly-awaited exhibitions ever to be staged at Tewkesbury Museum.

Artefacts from the Titanic went on show on Tuesday.

The Barton Street museum had been closed for two weeks to allow hundreds of items, many from the doomed liner, to be put in place.

The ship struck an iceberg in 1912 on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York, leading to the loss of 1,500 lives.

They include a piece of coal from the ship's boiler room, recovered from the ocean floor in 1994.

There is also a letter written by one of the passengers.

Written on a piece of card, it has no name on it but is believed to have been written by British man Stanley May.

He posted it to his sisters, Hilda and Gladys, when the boat was in Queenstown, Ireland.

He says: “We have had a nice trip.” And adds that the Titanic was “like a palace”.

Another item likely to attract attention is an 18ct gold pocket watch that belonged to Italian waiter Vincenzo Gilardino, who perished.

As people arrive, they can hear survivor Joseph Boxhall's account of the tragedy on a record made to raise money for families of the victims.

Visitors will be interested in items from James Cameron's 1997 film, starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio.

Visitor Judith Williams, from Tewkesbury, said: “I hope people come to see it because it's worthwhile.”

Fellow visitor Anne Bayliss added: “It's very good. I'm very glad to have seen it. It's the splendour of the ship that's interested me. It was like a floating hotel.”

The exhibition runs until the end of September.