A museum in the cells of Brighton's first police station has been awarded £10,000 of lottery funding.

The Old Police Cells Museum is located in the basement of Brighton Town Hall, which was built in 1830.

It opened in May 2005 and charts the history of policing in the Brighton area, right from 1812 when the first eight city watchmen were appointed.

The police station is thought to be the only UK one where a chief constable was killed in his own office.

Chief Constable Henry Solomon was murdered in 1836 by a man he was questioning - 23-year-old John Lawrence - who was publicly hanged for his crime.

The museum will be open again in May 2007, after it has staged performances of Harold Pinter plays during next year's Brighton Festival Fringe.

Councillor Pat Drake, from Brighton and Hove City Council, said more cells from the former police station would be used to increase the size of the museum.

""We are all so thrilled to have been granted this [lottery] money to make sure the museum can prosper," she said.

"We can now set up a website, improve signage and pay for the cleaning and decoration of the museum.

"We will also be in a position to train a volunteer to become a dedicated museum assistant."