VANDALS are believed to have deliberately started a blaze which caused £4,000-worth of damage to a replica Viking village.

The gang attacked the Danelaw village, at Murton Park, near York, setting light to a reconstruction of a Viking longhouse, which was destroyed.

The contents of the building, which included a loom, tools and wall-hangings, were destroyed, and the fire also spread to two nearby huts, badly damaging the roof of one.

PC Peter McCreedy said yesterday: "We are treating the incident as arson. Access was gained through public land and then they have broken down a portion of a fence to get into the site."

It is not the first time the museum has suffered at the hands of arsonists. In 1998, the site was attacked three times in a month.

Site manager Dave Thirlwall said: "The message that we are sending out is they are just buildings. We will rebuild them and carry on. If somebody thinks that by doing this they are going to put us out of business - think again."

The village is used as an educational resource and is used by thousands of children every year

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact police, on (01904) 631321.