The Firepower museum in Woolwich Arsenal will close at the beginning of July, it has been confirmed.

The museum will close its doors to the public on July 8 after being based on the site since its forerunner, the Royal Military Repository, was established in 1778.

Most of the collection will move to a new 'heritage centre' in Wiltshire, expected to open by 2020, while some will be retained for a permanent exhibition at the Greenwich Heritage Centre in Woolwich Arsenal.

In an official statement chairman Brigadier Iain Harrison said the date was chosen to allow the museum to celebrate the Royal Artillery’s Tercentenary on May 26 and the Centenary commemoration of the first day of the Battle of the Somme on July 1.

The museum's future has been in the balance for several years, with the wheels put in motion for its closure in 2014 when it failed to meet the target of 200,000 visitors a year.

A petition against the closure got more than 3000 signatures.

The museum also nearly closed in 2007 after a shortfall in fundraising.

In 2015 it won a TripAdvisor award for excellence.