A STUNNING display of shrubs and flowers within a Viking longboat is spearheading Stamford Bridge’s entry into this year’s Yorkshire In Bloom contest.

The six-metre long model has been painstakingly constructed by tutor Phillip Mountain and students from York College.

It was officially launched by Claude Mole, chairman of East Riding of Yorkshire Council, on Saturday before a large crowd of villagers and local dignitaries.

Bryan Lawson, chairman of Stamford Bridge In Bloom, said it had been his dream since the group’s inception to have a model Viking longboat full of flowers.

The colourful display will be seen through the summer by motorists and cyclists passing through Stamford Bridge on the A166 from York to the East Coast.