WILLITON'S Bakelite Museum has won an unenviable mention in a new book highlighting Britain's worst tourist attractions.

The world's largest collection of objects made from the first synthetic plastic is listed in Crap Days Out, just published by travel writers Gareth Rubin and Jon Parker.

The museum, housed in the Grade Two listed Orchard Mill, shares the limelight with national treasures including Glastonbury Tor, Stonehenge and Madame Tussauds, as well as the possibly less mass appeal Teapot Island in Kent and the Cumberland Pencil Museum in Keswick.

But museum owner Patrick Cook, who has welcomed more than 150,000 visitors to the attraction since opening it 19 years ago, has taken the criticism on the chin and with a very large dose of salt.

"I think the book is just a bit of fun really," he said.

"Being listed in this book is a sort of double twist - one of those negative/ positive things.

"People love nostalgia and we get some very positive comments from visitors.

"Bad news travels fast but I just hope people will come and see for themselves before making any judgement."

In the book, the bakelite displays are described as "a temple to this redundant material".

"If you like your thermoset phenol formaldehyde resin formed from an elimination reaction of phenol with formaldehyde then you'll love the Bakelite Museum," say the authors.

Despite the entry in the book, described as the quintessential guide to why Britons should stay at home and watch the telly, the museum has notched up some top reviews on the internet rating website Trip Advisor.

Visitors who have posted their comments have described it as quirky and fantastic, excellent and well worth a visit.

Meanwhile, Mr Cook is still grappling with a problem which reared its head last year after concerns raised by an off duty fire officer left the museum with an uncertain future.

He still has to comply with a dossier of fire safety recommendations to ensure the museum can remain open in the long term and has been given until next month to make changes to the building which are likely to cost tens of thousands of pounds.