Fish and ships! Goldfish given Viking burial complete with burning longship by schoolchildren

It is certainly a grander send-off than being flushed down the loo.

Two goldfish have been given a Viking burial – complete with flaming longship – by schoolchildren on Orkney.

Bubbles and Freddy were honoured with a traditional Norse ceremony to start their journey to Valhalla by pupils at Papdale School in Kirkwall.

The fish had become class pets for Christmas but died recently. The children, who have been studying the Vikings, read out their memories of the fish before the boat was cast out to the water.

MORE: Vicar sparks row by installing children’s plastic furniture in church
MORE: Revealed: The 35 best places to live in the UK and none of them are in London

The school blog said they “decided to send our fish to Valhalla with a Viking style burial in a longship we made that day”.

It added: “While we will miss Freddy and Bubbles, we certainly enjoyed giving them a good send off to Valhalla.”