A Royal Navy Commo-dore has been employed to steer Winchester Cathedral into a brighter future.

Commodore Adrian Munns OBE will take over as the cathedral's receiver general in the New Year.

Responsible for the day-to-day management of the cathedral and its 118 staff, he has been appointed to turn around the attraction's declining visitor numbers.

He will also have to deal with a three-year-long deficit in the cathedral's annual turnover and manage its 600 volunteers.

Commodore Munns previously oversaw the Navy's training facility HMS Excellent in Portsmouth - which trains 20,000 Royal Navy personnel a year.

He has also held a number of senior naval posts, including principal private secretary to the First Sea Lord.

A spokesman for the cathedral said he is the "ideal" choice.

The current receiver general Keith Bamber will leave next month - a year earlier than expected.

He said: "The cathedral depends on visitors for its income. When I first came visitors to heritage sites were quite buoyant. That has certainly changed."

Some suggest the cathedral needs to radically change its image to attract more visitors.