Free entry sparks huge rise in museum visits

Visits to England's museums and galleries have soared by almost three million since they offered free entry in December. More than seven million tickets have been issued in the first seven months of the scheme, up 62 per cent on the previous year.

The biggest rise was at the Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington, where admissions leapt 157 per cent to 1.2 million between December and June, compared with 480,000 in the same period the year before.

Mark Jones, director of the V&A, said: "These figures show free admission makes a huge difference and has opened up the museum to many more people."

The Natural History Museum issued 1.6 million tickets (up 72 per cent), while the Science Museum attracted 1.3 million visitors (up 82 per cent).

The biggest successes outside London included the National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside (up 67 per cent) and the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester (up 66 per cent).