A DRUID chief has announced his intention to stand in the next general election to fight what he describes as the "disgusting neglect" of Stonehenge.

King Arthur Pendragon, titular head and chosen chief of the largest independent Druid order in Britain, will stand as an independent candidate in the Salisbury constituency and take on the mainstream political parties.

He is campaigning for the construction of the £510 million A303 Stonehenge road tunnel, which, he says, is the only way to protect the ancient monument and was backed up by a lengthy public inquiry in 2004.

"What was the point of spending all that money on the public inquiry and then ignoring its findings because it's suddenly too expensive?" Mr Pendragon demanded.

"This issue has been mishandled and fudged by successive governments for the last 20 years and the time has come to take action.

"Yes, it is a big capital project, but it's not going to get any cheaper and the problem of the traffic around Stonehenge isn't going to go away."

This will be the fourth time that the Druid leader has stood in a general election and he plans to set up a campaign office in Salisbury and appoint an agent to help him canvass votes.

Mr Pendragon, who began his Druid training when he was a teenager, describes himself as a keen environmental campaigner and supporter of human rights.

His order - the Loyal Arthurian Warband - says that it fights for the ancient virtues of truth, honour and justice.

Mr Pendragon is also a pagan priest and Druid swordbearer and plays an active part in the summer solstice celebrations at Stonehenge.

"Obviously the site is very significant in my life, but it is important to a great number of people," he said.

"The government has promised to protect it, but now they are reneging on that promise and it's a disgusting neglect of this world heritage site.

"I'm also disgusted at the lack of backing given to Stonehenge, which meant that it missed out on being one of the seven new wonders of the world.

"For too long Stonehenge has been used for cheap political point-scoring at the expense of our heritage.

"I am going to run for parliament in the Salisbury constituency and campaign for Stonehenge to be protected and the published scheme - the road tunnel - goes ahead."