ARSONISTS are being blamed for a fire at a Viking village on the outskirts of the city which caused £4,000 of damage.

Vandals attacked the Danelaw village, at Murton Park, early yesterday, and set light to a Viking longhouse.

A passer-by on the A64 raised the alarm at about 5.50am, and firefighters from York attended the scene. Fire destroyed the 45ft long and 18ft wide building completely along with its contents, which included a loom, tools and wall- hangings. The fire also spread to two nearby huts, destroying the roof of one.

PC Peter McCreedy, from York Police, said: "We are treating it as arson. Access was gained through public land they have broken down a portion of a fence to get into the site."

Site manager Dave Thirwall said the intruders must have used some sort of wire clippers to get through barbed wire before setting fire to the building. 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.

A Viking hut was burned down in one attack, and another attack left a longhouse burned down. Four huts were burnt down in another attack. Mr Thirwall, who helped launch the museum in 1984, sent a defiant message out to those responsible.

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

The facility is used by children and the day of the fire a children's party had been planned in the long house but had to be moved to another building.

Dave said: "I do not see why we could have any enemies, we run the place for thousands of children.

"The person that has done this has destroyed an awful lot of public pleasure."

A container was placed in the museum over the weekend for donations to help the rebuilding of the long house, which cannot be insured.

Anyone who can donate building materials, particularly slab wood, should phone Dave on 01904 489966. Anyone who has any information about the incident should phone York Police on 01904 631321.

Updated: 11:48 Monday, January 27, 2003