AN ancient monument, which protected a Purbeck town from marauding Viking raiders for hundreds of years, has won another award.

Wareham's town walls have won gold in the annual Green Apple Awards, which are run by the Green Organisation, a group dedicated to promoting environmentally friendly practices in the conservation of ancient monuments.

The award recognises the success of Purbeck District Council's plans to preserve the town's walls, which were nominated in the competition's monuments category.

It is the second award received by the district council following its success in April at the Dorset Archaeological Awards, where the Saxon walls were highly recommended.

The most dramatic phase of the district council's plan to enhance and preserve the walls was completed last year with the clearance of large sections of trees and scrubs on the northern end of the earth ramparts.

Purbeck District Council's environmental spokesperson, Cllr John Hyde, said: "We hope awards like this will help encourage further interest and support for the ongoing care, preservation and interpretation of this fantastic monument."

The walls, built between 700AD and the reign of King Alfred, which began in 801, are a very popular tourist attraction and are central to the identity of the ancient town.

According to the district council, the walls, which would originally have been topped by a wooden palisade, are probably the best preserved Saxon walls outside Scandinavia.

There are other Saxon walls in England, including Wallingford, near Oxford, but they are less complete.

The main aims of its plans to conserve the monument is to balance the archaeological, nature conservation and recreational interests, while preserving and enhancing the walls for the benefit of future generations.

The district council has rented Wareham's town walls from the Rempstone Estate for one shilling a year since 1956.