Works costing £1m are due to start imminently on the Rocket House in Cromer a council leader has said.

The news comes as the delicate removal of the famous H.F Bailey Lifeboat from the seafront building became a spectacle in the town’s streets last Friday.

It is being renovated due to chronic damp problems caused by storm surge flooding at the premises, which is home to the town's RNLI museum.

North Norfolk District Council leader, Tim Adams, said: “The removal of the Bailey was the end of the beginning.

READ MORE: RNLI Rocket House lifeboat in large scale move operation

The Allleys crew towing the boat down Church Street The Allleys crew towing the boat down Church Street (Image: Jack Warren, Newsquest) “The RNLI are removing the last of their items from the Henry Blogg Museum and then we will begin removing the floor."

The extent of the damage caused by the damp was realised as the floor began to crumble when the Bailey was being removed.

READ MORE: Cromer Rocket House repairs going ahead despite backlash

Mr Adams said: “It’s a substantial job.

“The whole building needs tanking out, a method of preventing water ingress, to proof against future damage."

The decision to invest the £1m into the Rocket House had been called a "monumental mistake" by the leader of the council's independent group Angie Fitch-Tillett. 

RNLI surveys showed that the building is taking on water and has a damp problem due to problems with the construction of the building.