A picturesque village on the Broads is being firmly put on the internet map thanks to a dedicated army of amateur history hunters.

For the last nine years members of the Ludham Community Archive have collected more than 70,000 photographs, map and documents from Ludham, near Great Yarmouth, and put them on an internet database.

Today copies of the archive's vast collection were on display in the Church Room in Norwich Road featuring an RAF overhead photograph from 1946 and a 1906 Ordnance Survey Office map.

Among the display was a time line of Ludham's history, detailing events such as Ludham being endowed as a manor by King Canute in 1016, a devastating fire at Ludham in 1611 and the tragic death of a Mrs Powell in 1941 who was killed by German strafing.

Curious villagers and visitors from as far a field as Hull used the open day as an opportunity to find out about their ancestors or the history of land they lived on by accessing the 70,000 items online.

The history internet database receives a request from aboard for information on distant relatives at least once a week.

The Ludham Community Archive was set up in 2002 originally to create a textile map of the village as part of the Jubilee celebrations and now sees up to 30 people attend its regular meetings.

It also has more than 30 hours of video featuring villagers' memories of their community.