A HORDE of Vikings has descended on Westminster to update politicians about work to reopen one of the best-known visitor attractions in the country after it was hit by devastating floods.

Baroness Harris of Richmond staged a reception at the Palace of Westminster for archaeologists and bosses of Jorvik, in York, which was forced to shut its doors for the first time in 32 years on December 27 last year, after water from the flooded River Foss left parts of the museum in up to 3ft of water.

Despite staff building a barricade to hold back the deluge, most of the Viking city recreation and artefact galleries at the museum that attracts 400,000 visitors annually were wrecked as water poured in through the walls and floor, but 9th century artefacts were rescued.

After the flood, the centre launched a £2 million campaign, backed by TV historian Dan Snow, actor Brian Blessed and Horrible Histories author Terry Deary, to help it reopen.

Representatives of the charity which runs the attraction, the York Archaeological Trust, including chief executive David Jennings and director of attractions, Sarah Maltby, said since the flooding, bosses at the museum, which is set to reopen on April 8, had worked to revamp the centre.

New features will include animatronics and models on the ride, “immersive experiences”, interactive digital applications in the galleries and bespoke displays for Viking artefacts.

They said other work had included flood prevention measures and staging a series of exhibitions to meet its educational remit.

Mr Jennings said: “Despite the flooding irreparably damaging most of our Viking city recreation and artefact galleries, we have still welcomed thousands of schoolchildren to our temporary exhibitions – especially in the adjacent York St Mary’s in partnership with York Museums Trust and the treasury of York Minster – and kept some of the most important Viking artefacts ever found in this country on public display.

“Our fundraising efforts top up the monies received from our insurers which would have enabled us to re-build the original displays.

“However, with technology and our understanding of Viking-age York moving on since our last major refurbishment, we’ve taken the opportunity to re-imagine the Viking city, and to improve the specification of our galleries so that we can welcome touring collections from other museums alongside our own collection.”

The trust has received hundreds of bookings for the centre’s opening weeks.

The city’s Viking Festival, from February 20 to 26 February, will tell the prequel story to Jorvik’s new displays, focusing on the last days of King Eric Bloodaxe.