An archaeological dig site that has attracted people from across the world has been able to reopen thanks to a council grant.

Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project (SHARP) in west Norfolk has been running excavation, research and training courses for 25 years.

The archaeological site, described as one of the country’s largest ones run entirely by volunteers, is looking into how people used and settled the land, from the earliest times to the present day. Its current work focuses on the Anglo-Saxon period.

During that time, it has seen more than 4,000 people from all over the world join its community, and hundreds of local people and visitors to north west Norfolk visit the site every year to see what has been uncovered.

The dig site was shut down in 2020 due to Covid-19 but is now able to open again following a Covid recovery grant from Norfolk County Council.

Kate Faulkes, a member of the management committee, said: "This will help us to take a range of extra precautions to make the site Covid safe, including extra cleaning and hosting a smaller number of people on site than usual to ensure social distancing.

"It would not have been possible to open this year without this support, and we’re enormously grateful to the council for their help."

SHARP has made some significant finds and has unearthed more than 200 skeletons dating back to the Bronze Age.

It is now able to offer a limited number of places for people to join an introductory course in July, and members are particularly keen to involve local people who would like to find out more about history in their area.

People of all ages with no previous experience can book onto the one week course named BERT (Basic Excavation and Research Techniques).

Ms Faulkes said: "We also have a small bursary fund which may be able to help out if cost is a problem for you, and instructions on how to apply for this are also on the website."

To find out more about the course and to book online visit www.sharp.org.uk and click on the course tab.