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News: Notorious bandits DNA sought

From the 13th to the 17th Century, the western end of the border between Scotland and England was a turbulent and lawless place and many lives were lost in these ‘debatable’ lands as the border was not defined, and families feuded to uphold their honour and to expand their property and possessions in this remote land.

Now, hundreds of years after they spilled their blood in a series of vicious raids and reprisals, the Border Reiver clans are being asked to do it all again.

Newcastle University researchers are seeking people with ‘Border Reiver’ surnames, like Armstrong, Fenwick, Burn or Robson, to donate blood samples for a groundbreaking project which aims to find out if your surname signals your genetic makeup.

The term Border Reivers describes a number of English and Scottish families who fought a seemingly endless series of bloody confrontations from the 13th Century to the mid 17th Century. Sheep stealing and burning each other’s homes were part of everyday Border Reiver life - they were rugged, tough people who lived by their own laws.

Now researchers are aiming to find the descendants of these notorious families for the Northern England element of a national project called People of the British Isles.

They hope to collect up to 600 blood samples in total for scientific analysis and will be looking for common genetic patterns and the presence of certain genes, such as those that determine hair colour.

Volunteers should be able to trace all four of their grandparents to the same geographical area in Northumberland, Northern Cumbria, County Durham and the Scottish Borders. All volunteers who fit these criteria can participate, however, the study team will be particularly interested to hear from people who have a 'Border Reiver' surname by birth or a parent with the surname.

Project leader, Dr Caroline Relton, of Newcastle University’s Institute of Human Genetics, said: “The Border Reivers were at the centre of incredibly exciting era in British history and they left an impressive legacy in the people, culture and architecture of the Border lands.”

“We believe there are equally fascinating stories to be told about the Border Reivers’ genetic legacy and we hope to make many discoveries using thorough scientific analysis that has never been done before.”

Some samples have already been collected but further information can be obtained from Dr Alix Groom, 0191 241 8837 or email alix.groom@ncl.ac.uk

People of the British Isles is a pioneering project led by Oxford University and the Wellcome Trust which intends to collect 3,500 blood samples from populations throughout the UK. These will be used to look at the pattern of differences in people’s genetic make up around the UK. Newcastle University's Institute of Human Genetics is managing the project in the Northern region.

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