A time capsule with documents going back 100 years was unearthed when a large safe, which has remained locked in Fishguard Town Hall, was finally opened on Thursday.

The safe has been locked, with the keys long lost, in the first floor former clerk's office for many years.

"It was left there for more than 20 years even after the room was let out, but with the demolition of the building for the redevelopment, it had to be moved," said the mayor, Councillor Richard Davies.

"Because it weighs more than a ton, the safe had to be craned out through the wall, and we had all been waiting eagerly to see if there was anything in it."

Safe specialists from the Ace Safe Company of Hangersley, near Ringwood, Hampshire, took a couple of hours to open it. Their managing director even came along to see what it contained.

"When the door opened, the first thing that caught my eye was a shiny silver Norsk galleon - I think it's pewter - which must have been presented to someone," Cllr Davies said.

He said it would have been a great disappointment if the safe had been empty, but it also yielded wills, land transfer documents, old petrol coupons, a 1905 plan of the town's sewerage scheme, a 1906 document about the construction of the Great Western Railway and other papers which are now being studied at Scolton Manor Museum.

"They were all marked Fishguard and Goodwick UDC and we are hoping to put them on exhibition in Fishguard because local people are naturally curious about what has been in the safe so long," he said.

The redeveloped Town Hall will provide much-needed accommodation for the Invasion Tapestry, with a mezzanine floor.

The Market Hall will be a concert and dance venue. It is hoped the entire project will be completed by Christmas.