The Bronte Parsonage Museum has won £600,000 from the taxman after a 13-year legal battle.

The popular tourist attraction in Haworth won the money in a landmark court ruling over its VAT payments.

The crux of the battle has hinged on whether the organisation is "volunteer-run" because it does employ some staff to man the museum.

HM Customs and Excise, which levies VAT, has finally accepted that the Bronte Society - which owns the museum - is a volunteer-run organisation because its trustees are all unpaid.

This means that, because it provides a cultural service and is run on a non-profit basis, the organisation is exempted from paying VAT on all its income under 1990 legislation.

Bronte Society chairman Bob Barnard today urged other attractions to use the ruling for their benefit.

He said: "As far as we are aware, only us and London Zoo have benefited so far, but there are a lot of other cultural organisations that could do.

"Any museum or gallery or provider of public attraction which is run by volunteers should be looking at whether they have been paying VAT, and whether they should have been."

The VAT rebate of £596,000 plus interest has now been paid back to the society.

Mr Barnard said the society was still deciding how it would be best spent.

"We are absolutely delighted with this. One thing I would emphasise is that this is our money. We have been paying it out unnecessarily over the last ten years so it is only right that it is returned to us with interest," he said.

"Because of the economic climate and various factors - such as September 11 and foot and mouth - we have been running at a deficit, so the money is very much welcome.

"We will have to think very carefully about how it is spent. We will look into the possibility of purchasing more memorabilia because essentially we want to improve the museum in any way we can and continue the good work."

The society is considering a joint venture with Haworth Parish Church to build new facilities on the back of the nearby Sunday School building, where Charlotte Bronte taught. The building could be used for the museum's educational programme and the church's community events.

A customs spokesperson said there had been 50 claims by organisations to date for the repayment of VAT. He added: "We will be issuing any formal guidelines that are required in due course.

"In the meantime we will continue to look into the claims of any individual bodies who feel they may be affected by the judgement on a case by case basis."