The historic collection needs �11m for restoration projects

Ellesmere Port Boat Museum is home to many historic canal boats and holds the national archive of the 300-year-old history of the canals.

The museum, together with two other sites in Britain, holds 90% of the Inland Waterways collection but receives no direct government funding.

Andrew Millar MP will raise the issue at Westminster on Tuesday.

Free entry

The impact of competition from free entry museums means that a critical point has been reached, according to the Waterways Trust.

The Trust now needs an additional �1.1m per annum for 10 years for maintenance of the collection, to address conservation arrears and to enable the museums to offer free entry for all.

The Inland Waterways collection is the largest collection of its kind and includes narrowboats and barges that are nearly 150 years old.

Roger Hanbury, chief executive of The Waterways Trust, said: "The nationally designated inland waterway collection is a priceless asset and the museums are an unrivalled educational resource."

Andrew Miller MP is hoping the government will release the �11m needed over the next decade to fund the restoration of the collection.