THE Vikings have invaded! To help launch the 26th annual York Viking Festival, school children in York wore costumes and marched through the city.

After processing from Coppergate to the Guildhall, the children from Haxby Road Primary School, Carr Junior School and Lord Deramore’s Primary School sang a specially written song to the Lord Mayor of York, Coun Sue Galloway.

The annual festival, which attracts more than 40,000 visitors to York, will feature a number of events, and runs until February 27.

It will recreate the events of the early 11th Century when King Ethelred sat on the English throne and struggled for survival in the face of repeated Danish invasions. Charlotte Bridle, an organiser of the festival, said: “It went very well. Although they had practised their songs at school, today was the first time they sang together.”