Museum staff walk Hadrian's Wall as Roman soldiers

The members of museum staff have completed half of their challenge along Hadrian's Wall

Museum staff are walking the length of Hadrian’s Wall dressed as Roman soldiers to raise funds after their attraction was vandalised.

Murton Park is an open-air museum in York that houses four reconstructed historical sites including a Roman fort and a Viking village.

Four members of the team are collecting money for repairs following vandalism at the educational facility, with funds also being raised for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance (YAA).

The team have completed half of their week-long walk across the 73-mile (117km) historic wall.

Chris Bray, Andrew Derych, Dan Coultas and his father Neil Coultas are due to finish their trek by Saturday, with their armour and equipment weighing about 30kg each.

Craig Benton, museum director, said seeing his colleagues kitted out with helmets and armour on the historic route had been “surreal”.

“It’s like something from a film," he said.

“They’ve had rain and sunshine - I think they’re a little bit worn out and tired as the weight of what they’re carrying was a bit more than they were anticipating.”

Chris Bray, Andrew Derych, Neil Coultas and Dan Coultas hope to complete the walk on Saturday

The recreation of a Roman fort at Murton Park was vandalised in June

Mr Benton said they wanted to raise money for the YAA as it was "close to a lot of people’s hearts", but added they also required funds to help keep Murton Park “well-maintained”.

The Roman fort at the charity-run museum was “broken into and smashed up” in June, Mr Benton said, with the damage putting “so much pressure on us financially”.

“Following the break-ins, it was even more of a reason to keep raising funds," he said.

“There’s still things that need to be repaired but we will get round to it as and when we can."

Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail].