Is Dickens' ghost, Jacob Marley based on Cornish surgeon?

The Charles Dickens character Jacob Marley might have been inspired by a Cornish surgeon, according to an amateur historian.

Barry West believes the famous literary ghost is based on a Dr Miles Marley, a 19th Century medical practitioner whom met Dickens in London.

In Dickens' A Christmas Carol, Marley's tormented spectre visits Ebenezer Scrooge on Christmas morning.

The Dickens Museum said it "wouldn't be surprised" if Mr West was correct.