A new exhibition will look at a four-ship disaster in the English Channel which killed more than 40 people.

To be displayed at Folkestone's Fishing Heritage and History Museum, it will explore the crash involving the Panamanian tanker Texaco Caribbean.

The ship was seven miles off Folkestone on January 11, 1971 when it was struck by Peruvian vessel Paracas, weighing 12,000 tonnes, in thick fog.

There was an enormous explosion which tore the Texaco Caribbean in half and rocked homes from Dungeness to Margate, with some in Folkstone suffering damage.

Within five minutes the bridge and bow section had sunk, with the stern section drifting for several hours before sinking too.

About 600 tonnes of bunker fuel was spilled into the sea.

Eight lives were lost, with 20 survivors being rescued by two other ships and taken to Dover.

The Paracas was towed away to Hamburg, Germany.

But the collision resulted in a further two crashes.

The next day German ship Brandenburg struck the wreck of Texaco Caribbean, despite vertical green warning lights being in place.

It sank within minutes, with 21 people losing their lives and only 11 survivors plucked from the water by rescue crews.

And on February 27, over a month later, Greek ship Niki also ignored warnings and hit the submerged wrecks and sank with the loss of all 21 crew and one passenger.

Clippings, stories and pictures from the disaster will be included in the new exhibition, which has been put together by former fisherman, historian and museum volunteer Alan Taylor.

Following the winter season, the museum will re-open tomorrow (Monday,March 16) at 2 Radnor Street.

It will be open daily from 10.30am to 4pm and admission is free.

Also on display will be fishing equipment, artefacts and pictures of former fisherman and boats in connection with Folkestone's history as a fishing town.

Items such as post cards, books and DVDs will be on sale.

The museum has also joined the Wheels of Time scheme which sees children aged six to 12 collect a badge or token at every museum they visit which is also signed up.

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