A WIRRAL author has brought the borough's Viking heritage to life in a brand new fantasy adventure for primary school children.

Bebington-born Jane Dickman's fascination with Scandinavia inspired her to write Bjarki The Viking, a tale about an inquisitive young Viking who finds a magic hammer and is whisked off an unexpected adventure.

Jane, who runs a planning consultancy business, said: "Some people may be surprised to learn that the area has a rich Viking heritage.

"The Vikings are believed to have settled there after coming over from Norway some time before 900AD.

"Initially, they tried to settle in Ireland near Dublin, before heading across the Irish Sea and trying unsuccessfully to live in Wales.

"It is chronicled in Ingimund's Saga that they were given lands 'north of Chester'.

"The place names which still exist to this day on the Wirral support this, as do finds of Viking ships in Meols and genetic testing of people from the Wirral, whose DNA matches very closely to modern day Norwegians.

"That's why the Wirral – or Wirhale as it was known in Viking times – seemed the obvious setting for my story about Bjarki.

"When I was a child I had to learn all of the names of the countries in Western Europe, and all of the capital cities.

"For whatever reason, I loved all of the Nordic names. I then read The Saga of Asgard, which became one of my favourite books, and I've been fascinated by Scandinavia ever since. The idea for the book on Bjarki happened by accident.

"I visited Historiska Museet in Stockholm and saw a map on the wall, which showed how far the Vikings had got in England.

"It stopped north of the Mersey, which really annoyed me. That's when I first started to think about the book and things just developed from there."

"When I first wrote the story, it was never my intention to get it published – it was more a case of something to do after I was made redundant. However, a business associate then read it and persuaded me to go for it and I’m glad they did!"

The book is aimed at children between the ages of seven and 12 and Jane has visited a number of schools to do readings and presentations on the Vikings.

She said: "I've also been invited to do a reading at the Viking exhibition at the Grosvenor Museum in Chester, which is very exciting."

Bjarki The Viking is published by Appin Press and is priced £4.95.

If you would like to book Jane for readings, email stadplan@btinternet.com