Israel has pledged £650,000 to safeguard the future of Holocaust memorials in Poland.

The money will be used to make vital repairs to structures at the sites of Auschwitz and Birkenau concentration camps. More than 1.38 million people toured the museum last year.

According to officials at the Auschwitz state museum, the money will go towards preserving what were gas chambers, barracks and other key artefacts.

Poland, Germany and the US have already promised donations to the fund, which now stands at nearly £80 million in pledges.

In June the Polish government announced new financial measures to prevent the closure of the museum at the Sobibor concentration camp, after the museum administration said it had insufficient funding.