A unique museum of curiosities, which once attracted thousands of visitors to Sussex, is up for sale with the hope it can return home.

The Potters Museum of Curiosities had three Sussex homes in Bramber, Brighton and Arundel for 120 years, before going to Cornwall in 1986.

The award winning museum, featuring thousands of stuffed animals, is currently part of The Jamaica Inn at Bolventor, Cornwall and the owners want to sell.

Ideally they would like the entire collection sold intact and returned to Sussex.

They want the buildings housing the collection used for further expansion to the Inn, made famous by Daphne Du Maurier's book of the same name.

Tourism has taken off in Cornwall, following the opening of the Eden Project at St Austell.

There are more than 10,000 items that have been collected over 140 years and include an amazing collection of stuffed animals.

One of them is the large stuffed bear featured in episodes of the classic BBC comedy Steptoe and Son.

The latest owners who took the Potters Museum from Arundel to Cornwall, adding even more exhibits, are hoping the museum can be sold intact for £1 million.

Businessman John Watts, who fell in love with the bizarre collection and bought it following a visit to Arundel in 1986, says he would be delighted if it could be sold without being broken up and returned to its Sussex roots.

The amazing collection was started by taxidermist Walter Potter, in the village of Bramber.

He started stuffing dead animals at the age of 15 and as more and more people got to know of his work, he put them on display.

The Potter Collection had visitors flocking to the museum in The Street, Brighton, to see his animal tableaux such as the Death of Cock Robin, containing 96 birds and The Upper Ten, featuring 22 squirrels.

Walter Potter continued to add more and more stuffed animals to the collection, creating more tableaux such as the Kittens' Weddings.

The Potter Family kept the collection going after Walter's death in 1918.

For a brief period in the early Seventies, the Potters Museum moved to Brighton opposite The Palace Pier where it was owned by James Cartland, cousin of writer Barbara Cartland.

He then found premises for the unique collection on Arundel High Street, before selling it to businessman John Watts, who owns the Jamaica Inn. In Cornwall, the museum attracts between 20,000 and 30,000 visitors a year.

Mr Watts said: "The museum has been a labour of love over the years, and we have improved and added to it. We now need the buildings for further expansion as tourism has taken off in this part of Cornwall.

"Ideally I want to see the collection remain in this country, remain intact and returned to Sussex where its roots are."

Chris Tod honorary curator of the Steyning Museum, is also hoping it can be returned to Sussex.

He said: "If an enthusiastic buyer could be found who would keep the collection intact, it could once again become a major Sussex tourist attraction."