Around one million Britons are directly related to Vikings, with people from the north of Scotland most likely to have Viking DNA, according to a new study.

A genetic study by BritainsDNA compared the Y chromosome markers, which are inherited from father to son, of 3,500 men, looking for six DNA patterns which are found most commonly in Scandinavia. They found that around one in every 33 men in the UK had these genetic markers, implying that they have Viking ancestry.

While men from across the country were found to be of Viking descent, the prevalence of the genetic markers was much higher in the north of Scotland, with 29.2% of those in Shetland believed to have Viking ancestry compared with less than 2% of those in Southern England or Wales sharing the same heritage.

BritainsDNA tweeted a map showing the prevalence of Viking heritage across the UK: