VISITORS were transported back in time during a vivid, vibrant and sometimes violent living history show near Worcester which brought the high drama of our past back to life in glorious detail.

Re-enactors from almost every conceivable period of history descended on Spetchley Park for the M5 Living History Show over the weekend.

Viking marauders intent on usurping the English throne vied with soldiers from the Napoleonic wars while the gun-slinging cowboys of the American west wrestled with English Civil War generals for the attention of the crowds.

The show covered a vast span of history and straddled several continents for its inspiration, encompassing the Ancient Greeks, the medieval period, the Tudor Period, the English Civil War, the Napoleonic Wars, the American Civil War, the Zulu Wars, the Boer Wars, the American West and the First and Second World Wars.

Among those to attend was Andrew Derby from Birmingham-based re-enactors FJRS who came as Germans from 1943 who fought in Italy during the Second World War. They brought a number of props including an MG 42, a general purpose machine gun designed in Nazi Germany.

He said: "We entertain a lot of people and we raise a lot of money for charity. Last week we raised about £1,000 for the Royal British Legion.

"I like the uniforms the Germans wear. They're better than the American and British uniforms. There's more variety. They had a uniform for everything."

British forces from the 46th Infantry Division were also represented. Craig Polly, dressed as a sergeant, said they first attended the show last year and enjoyed it so much they decided to return.

"We really enjoyed the spirit, the attention to detail and the variety" he said.

They also brought with them a Second World War vehicle, the Morris Commercial, which Mr Polly jointly owns with fellow re-enactor Nick Sawyer. The vehicle is restored to what it would have been like in 1943 to 1945.

Brian Bullock of Worcester Re-enactors said: "We have more of most of the groups, more Second World War and a new group doing the Crimean War and another group doing the old west. We have about 940 re-enactors this year."

He said the event already looked like it was going to be more popular than last year. Mr Bullock added: "We hope the word is getting around."

People could enjoy a tipple in a 1940s pub or visit a leech surgeon to discuss remedies for a variety of unpleasant ailments. Demonstrations and battles also brought the past to life.

Vikings formed a tight shield-wall as they clashed with the Anglo-Saxons during a recreation of the Battle of Fulford in 1066 when the Norse king Harald Hardrada defeated the Northern earls before the Normans invaded later that year.

Swords and axes thudded against shields, insults were exchanged and there were offers of a champions' fight to spare the body of the men from further copious bloodshed.

Susan Petherbridge, a knight's lady from the period of the twelfth century Crusades, showed off her silk and jewels and coloured clothing which would have set her apart from the drab peasant women of the period.

She said: "It's a chance to see lots of other re-enactors and see what they're up to, make new friends, see old friends."