Dale Bavin, the only member of the Axholmr Viking group in the Lincoln area, said he is looking for new blood.

Mr Bavin, 30, also known as Guthurn Sigurdson, said: "I enjoy the fighting, combat and being in the public eye and getting strange looks."

But because the 25-strong Midlands section of the Viking horde has only one member in his city, he wants some company for his marauding and mock battles.

'Rape and pillage'

"I need someone to hit," the Viking lover said.

The re-enactment group makes its own swords, dresses in authentic fur clothing and tries to show the public what Viking life in the 3rd to the11th centuries was really like.

"We are trying to do away with the image of the mythical bloodthirsty Vikings who does nothing but rape and pillage," Mr Bavin said.