LEGEND dictates that at Britain’s greatest hour of need, King Arthur and his knights will rise again to defend the realm from its enemies.

But now he intends to call on global support to aid one of his most epic quests – the struggle to force archaeologists to re-bury ancient bones excavated from Stonehenge.

King Arthur Uther Pendragon, who realised he was the reincarnation of the legendary monarch in the 1980s, is planning an “international day of action” in partnership with indigenous peoples and religious groups across the globe.

He has already appeared at the High Court twice as part of his campaign to have the cremated remains of some 60 individuals returned to their resting place in Wiltshire.

Standing against him are the archaeologists, headed by Professor Mike Parker Pearson of University College London, who excavated the bones in 2008, and holds the licence to store them for study.

The licence expires on November 1 this year, but an application has been made to the Ministry of Justice for this to be extended.

If the request is granted, Arthur will call on his allies across the globe to picket museums holding human remains.

He will also take the government to court for the third time.

The ex-biker-turned-battle chieftain of the Council of British Druid Orders can already rely on support from Native Americans, who in a 2012 Gathering of the Medicine Men in Colorado agreed to send “positive energies” over to England to support his cause. He is also in discussion with indigenous peoples in Canada and Australia and will appeal to groups including witches and Jedis.

Mr Pendragon, who stood as an independent parliamentary candidate for Salisbury in 2015, said: “As Druids we believe in honouring the ancestors. The very giants on whose shoulders we sit.

“Like the archaeologists we believe those buried around Stonehenge were instrumental in the building of the monument and the culture of those who went before us, but unlike them we believe as such we owe them the common decency and dignity to respect the wishes of those who laid them to rest.

“It was the proto-Druids, the very people whose work and knowledge inspire modern science and education, who were buried in the environs of Stonehenge.”

Professor Parker Pearson did not respond to requests to comment.

Simon Mays, human skeletal biologist for Historic England, said: “Human remains from archaeological sites are an important source of information about our shared past.

“Historic England believes that they should always be treated with respect, and that decisions concerning excavation, study, and retention of remains for display and research should be based on the balance of benefit and harm, giving due weight to the views and interests of all those involved.”

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “Decisions on whether human remains exhumed for archaeological purposes are reburied are made on a case by case basis, depending on the original licence granted.

“In the case of the Stonehenge remains, the licence conditions require them to be re-buried by November 1, 2015. Any application to retain them for longer will be considered on its individual merits.”