A museum dedicated to the history of the 250-year-old Wedgwood pottery group in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, has been handed a £134m pension debt.

According to the BBC, the Wedgwood Museum has been forced to take on the deficit after the collapse of Waterford Wedgewood due to a shared pension fund.

The Pension Protection Fund - established by the government to cover schemes affected by administration and insolvency - said it cannot act to recoup losses while the museum remains open.

Having been served with the debt, the museum - awarded the Art Fund Prize last June - may now be forced to sell off its collection of historic artefacts relating to the company's pottery heritage.

Wedgwood Museum Trust chair George Stonier told the BBC: "We are absolutely determined to do everything we can to preserve our museum."