ARCHAEOLOGISTS who discovered an Iron Age hill fort on Sutton Bank have also revealed that the White Horse of Kilburn has shrunk.

After comparing old and new aerial photographs, experts have revealed that the landmark horse's legs are now half their original length.

In addition, its neck is thicker, its muzzle is longer and its eye is positioned directly over a section of the ancient fort's boundary.

Elsewhere, the archaeologists have found Second World War weapons pits, dug because British military chiefs feared Sutton Bank would be invaded by the Luftwaffe.

The Yorkshire gliding club has had a runway on Roulston Scar since 1933 and German pilots were well aware of its existence when war broke out.

British military chiefs even considered hiding the nearby White Horse under camouflage netting, to hinder an airborne invasion.

In addition to the 2,500-year-old fort, these other discoveries were mentioned during a hilltop press conference on Thursday of last week.

The weather was sunny and breezy, as reporters, photographers and camera crews left their cars behind and climbed past the shrunken White Horse to the summit of Roulston Scar.

While clambering up the steps, there was some strong language, not all of which was about the spectacular views. Exhausted reporters and cameramen caught their breath for five minutes, before attempting to interview anybody.

To be fair, Mr Luke Casey, of Tyne Tees, appeared to manage the ascent with relative ease. Perhaps his Dales Diary work keeps him extra fit.

National park archaeologist Mr Graham Lee spoke about the various finds.

"These represent a good chronological depth and the fort is fantastic. We knew there had been an historic site here but didn't have a detailed understanding of it. Old 19th century ordnance survey maps indicated some sort of remains and I thought we needed to know more about the perimeter of the Scar. So I asked English Heritage to survey the site over the summer and we discovered it was completely encircled with defences."

He suspected the fort had been a massive tribal status symbol - a showpiece monument visible for miles across Iron Age Yorkshire.

Mr Lee, of Northallerton, had worked for the authority for 11 years and previously spent 20 years with North Yorkshire County Council heritage unit.

Commenting on more recent history, he said: "During the Second World War, the airfield was defended with emplacements in case the Germans wanted to use it. I don't think the White Horse was ever actually covered over with camouflage and we haven't discovered any old weapons."

Some embankments were levelled in the 1960s to extend the gliding club runway, he added.

The modern, round, wooden clubhouse is, arguably, quite in keeping with the fort, and the relationship between archaeologists and gliders was good, said Mr Lee, adding: "The club has been really helpful and they do great bacon sandwiches!"