"Emergency services will not be able to cope" - Matthew Taylor MP on BBC Radio 5 Live

The Liberal Democrat MP Matthew Taylor believes a million people will descend on Cornwall for the event where, scientists say, they will get the best view.

Mr Taylor, who is the MP for Truro and St Austell, fears local services will not be able to cope and has called a special parliamentary debate on the issue on Wednesday.

Taylor: Warning of a disaster

Mr Taylor warns of the danger of chaos with people flooding into Cornwall to see the first UK mainland eclipse since 1927.

"We want to make it an enjoyable and worthwhile experience but without government help fire services, police services, water services, ambulance services will not be able to help people in the way that they need it," he told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"It could turn into a disaster unless the government starts helping us with the planning and the cost of this now."

He said the local police believed they will need between £1m and £2m extra and the total additional costs facing the public sector could be nearly £5m.

The army may have to be called in to ensure public safety and limit damage to the environment, he said.

"So far government ministers seem unaware of the scale of what will be hitting the county and have not yet decided which parliamentary department should be responsible on this issue.

"We need a minister with clear responsibility for co-ordinating the government role," Mr Taylor said.

The call for extra support is backed by Cornwall's "eclipse co-ordinator", former Army Brigadier Gage Williams.

"We can do a tremendous amount of self help, but there will be a point where we would say we need outside help," he said.

The south west has no "control mechanisms" over numbers of people who travelled to the region, he added.

The eclipse will be seen for the longest period - two minutes and six seconds - on 11 August between the towns of Penzance and Falmouth in the west of the county.