A toy museum plagued by rain and flooding will finally reopen after being shut for almost three years.

The Sussex Toy and Model Museum, which is housed in the arches below Brighton station, was forced to close in November 1998 because the building flooded when it rained.

The toy museum is the only one of its kind left in England and there were fears it would also have to shut because of the constant damp.

Then Railtrack, which owns the premises, agreed to spend more than £130,000 lining the inside of the walls to stop leaks.

It also agreed to pay an undisclosed amount of compensation to the museum trustees for costs they had incurred as a result of the leaks.

The museum was originally expected to reopen in June but, after a series of delays, it will now reopen on October 12.

Chris Littledale, founding director of the museum, said: "We did think we would have opened again before now. The work took twice as long and caused twice as much disruption as we expected.

"Having said that, the museum is looking fantastic now, better than it has ever done. Railtrack has spent a substantial amount of money lining the walls so we shouldn't have any more problems.

"We have also introduced some new features. We are looking forward to getting the place open again."

Mr Littledale, an expert toy restorer, opened the museum ten years ago.

He had been obsessed with trains of all sizes from around the world since he was a boy and ranks his collection of antique trains, limited editions and model cars among the finest in the world.

He has already written to a number of Sussex celebrities to find someone to officially reopen the museum.

The arches, built in 1845 to support the station forecourt, were initially used by a brewery and are rumoured to be haunted by the ghost of a lovelorn young man, who plunged to his death in the silo.