Antique furniture put in freezer after woodworm found

The discovery was found during a deep clean at Strangers' Hall museum in Norwich

Antique furniture at a city museum has been put into a giant freezer after suspected woodworm was found.

Workers at Strangers' 'Hall museum, Norwich, discovered the wood-eating larva during the annual deep clean of the medieval merchant house.

Bethan Holdridge, from the museum, said action had been taken to "nip any latent problems in the bud".

A chaise longue, numerous chairs, a table and a stool were all removed.

The museum has removed various items of furniture after the woodworm find.

Woodworm is the wood-eating larva of various species of beetle, which, once hatched, can have a devastating impact resulting in items crumbling away completely, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

By freezing the items, the conservation team at Strangers’ Hall can ensure all life stages of woodworm are eradicated without using harmful chemicals.

"Owing to the nature of historic collections and buildings we will never be able to fully eradicate the presence of woodworm but activities like the deep clean allow us to take precautions and act in a preventative way ensuring the preservation of the collections", Ms Holdridge added.

The museum monitors its artefacts regularly

Ms Holdridge said the items had been moved to to Gressenhall for freezing.

"We will, of course, continue to monitor the situation through our regular programme of pest management so should anything flare up, we can act quickly," she added.