The island has been the target of a new Viking invasion as a group of Swedish bike fans make their annual pilgrimage to the TT.

A group of 100 intrepid TT enthusiasts arrived at Ronaldsway by chartered aircraft from Sweden on Thursday and will be here until the end of race week.

Some of their street bikes had already got here before they landed, having been transported to the island by lorry.

Jan-Ake ’Silja’ Siljestrom, a TT fan for the past 50 years, said: ’We will take it easy on the roads and you can recognize us in our black T-shirts. We have been looking forward for our 10-night stay.’

Their visit was arranged through Ã?rebro-based organizer Peters Evenemang.

About 50 of the bike fans met with some of the Swedish TT competitors at the Villa Marina on Sunday evening.

And the group had booked seats at the Hillberry grandstand all day yesterday (Monday) to watch the race action.