Comedian Eddie Izzard has officially reopened the new-look Bexhill Museum, following the completion of a £2m scheme to upgrade and modernise the 95-year old attraction.

The museum's original display area has been revamped and renamed as the Sargent Gallery in honour of former curator Henry Sargent, while a newly-built Costume Gallery boasts a fashion collection previously housed in the Bexhill Museum of Costume and Social History. A new Technology Collection - dedicated to Bexhill's motoring heritage - has also been created as part of the scheme, which received £900,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), £700,000 from Rother District Council (RDC) and £250,000 from the Society of Bexhill Museums.

RDC leader Carl Maynard said: "The investment the council has made in the building forms part of a package, including the Sidley Goods Yard development, Bexhill seafront and the Bexhill to Hastings Link Road, which shows we are committed to regeneration."