King Arthur is suing council, the police and English Heritage over 'pay to pray' scheme

A druid who believes he is a reincarnation of King Arthur is to take court action against what he considers an ‘illegal charge’. King Arthur Pendragon is suing Wiltshire Council, English Heritage, and Wiltshire Police for having to ‘pay to pray’ at Stonehenge. This involved a £15 charge, which he refused to pay, leading to his ban from the UNESCO World Heritage Site.



He decided to challenge the ‘authorities’ because of what he said was an “affront against my and many people’s religion, that is paganism”. King Arthur said: “I am banned from the site because I refuse to pay what I consider to be an illegal charge. Because of this I will be suing Wiltshire Council, English Heritage and Wiltshire Police under articles 9, 10, 11 and 14 of the European Convention of Human Rights.”

King Arthur thinks that there is a link between all three parties concerned. He said: “They conspired to make it impossible for me to park anywhere else than the car park that they were charging money for. Because the police stopped me from parking on all the other roads in and around Stonehenge, I couldn’t get in. This meant I had to go home and did not celebrate the Solstice, and for that, I intend to take them to court.”



A Wiltshire Council spokesman said: “We have received a claim, however it would be inappropriate to comment further.” English Heritage released a statement saying: “We can confirm that Mr Pendragon is proceeding against us and it would be inappropriate to comment while legal proceedings are ongoing.” Wiltshire Police said: “We have received a claim, and as proceedings are ongoing, it would be inappropriate for us to make any further comment at this time.”