Two of the three National Waterways Museums - in Gloucester and Stoke Bruerne, Northamptonshire - are set adopt a new local focus under plans confirmed by the Waterways Trust.

Work has already started to rebrand the Gloucester attraction as the Gloucester Waterways Museum, while the Stoke Bruerne attraction will be known as the Canal Museum.

The other existing National Waterways Museum, which covers a 7-acre (2.8-hectare) site in Ellesmere Port, Merseyside, will continue to offer a nationwide focus.

A spokesperson for the Waterways Trust said: "Splitting the story across three sites wasn't really working. People wanted to find out about the local waterways.

"Ellesmere Port will remain the National Waterways Museum - it's better placed to tell the story. It makes a lot more sense to have one National Waterways Museum and the other two to tell the local story."

It follows a review into the direction of the three sites carried out over the past year by the trust, along with partner organisations, volunteers and local authorities. The decision was taken in November and is set to be implemented by the summer.

Image: The newly-named Canal Museum at Stoke Bruerne