PRESTON scientists launched a rescue mission to save the graveyard remains of more than 100 people from the sea.

The team of lecturers and students from the University of Central Lancashire have spent weeks digging at an archaeological site in Anglesey, off the coast of North Wales.

Their mission was to save a collection of bones from the ancient graveyard, which had been under threat from the sea.

This week the dig finished and the remains, some dating back as far as the sixth century, are in Preston awaiting analysis.

Jennie Hawcroft, lecturer in the department of forensic and investigative science, said: "We have recovered about all we can. Remains that are archaeologically very important were getting washed out to sea, so this has been a rescue operation."

The team were on the island and now the bones will be put through rigorous tests before being returned. Over the next few years the group will try and find out the age of the bones and the sex and even the diet of those buried at the site. The remains are rare because Anglesey has acidic soil, which normally erodes bones.

Now the painstaking studies will supply a window into the world of people living in Britain more than 1,000 years ago. It is thought the remains either belong to the original population of Anglesey, or possibly to Viking settlers.