DAMP in Newent' s Market House is damaging historic artifacts according to a local archeologist.

Diane Charles, who is a member of Newent History Group, has asked the town council to install a dehumidifier to solve the issue. However, Newent Town Council believes the installation of such a device could harm the 17th century building's timber.

Diane Charles said: "I visited the Market House on the Sunday after the switch on of the lights and was concerned to find I couldn't get to the display cases due to the very large quantity of poles, tarpaulin and chairs in the way. While moving some of this I found that the tarpaulins were wet. This was particularly worrying because the Market House has a humidity problem which is contributing to the deterioration of the artifacts, particularly the metal ones. And placing wet materials in there will make the problem much worse.

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