At Denmark's Spottrup Castle, armour-clad fighters from 30 countries are battling it out with blunted swords and axes at the medieval combat world championship, a sport that blends historical technique with modern safety rules and scoring.

With swords, axes and shields, competitors from 30 countries are going head-to-head in the grounds of a Danish fortress in a modern version of old-fashioned battle.

With swords, axes and shields, competitors from 30 countries are going head-to-head in the grounds of a Danish fortress in a modern version of old-fashioned battle.