>From the "Daily Mail" Wednesday December 5th Found on the Wirral, a man with the blood of a warrior By Adam Powell Bill Housley went to the dentist an ordinary fisherman and emerged a fully-fledged Viking The 63 year old grandfather was asked for a saliva sample as part of a scientific study into the Norse invaders of Britain Amazingly it proved that he is a direct descendant of the sea-faring warriors who plundered the north of England 1,200 years ago The whole-sale fish merchants roots only emerged when he recieved a phone call from Professor David Goldstein of University College London who tested his saliva sample for the BBC2's Programme Blood of The Vikings Mr Housely's DNA matched ancient records from Norway and also that of three modern day Norwegians tested for the study Only three matches were found-in Scotland- and their genetic heritage was not as strong Mr Housely from Meols Wirral said "I always thought we were an ordinary fishing family which could be traced back 150 years" "I was utterly amazed I didn't know what I was going to be told but it certainly wasn't that I was a Viking. It means that my sons and their sons are also Vikings which is pretty spectacular when you think most people don't have that kind of history" "I was told that there are three people in Norway with similar DNA Sadly I don't know who they are because they were stopped in shopping centres and weren't asked for details" "Now I am determined to try to find the rest of my relatives and ancestors" Mr Housely was one of 2,000 men from Britain, Ireland, Norway and Denmark and northern Germany who took part in the random survey. The Y chromosone, which gives out information about ancestry was compared to DNA markers common in Scandinavia The research revealed that Norwegian Vikings settled in Scotland, Cumbria, the Isle of Man and as far south as Merseyside. Shetland Orkney and the far north of Scotland are the most Viking parts of Britain with 60 per cent of men having Norwegian genes. In England only Penrith in Cumbria has clear evidence of Norwegian influence, while York has the highest Danish genes. Prof Goldstein said: "Modern genetics have opened a powerful window on the past. We can trace movements of peoples that have proved difficult through history ........ Thought you would all be interested in the above article Caryl List Owner