ENGLISH Heritage is urging revellers attending Tuesday's summer solstice to car share or use public transport as it continues with its planned parking charges for the event.

The organisation which introduced parking charges for the first time last year recently won a court case brought by senior druid King Arthur Pendragon who argued having to "pay to pray" breached his human rights.

English Heritage (EH) say the parking charges are necessary to discourage the number of cars turning up to the event.

Manager Jennifer Davies said: “Celebrating summer solstice at Stonehenge is a wonderful occasion for people to come together to mark the longest day of the year, and we’d like this years to be the greenest solstice yet."

At the 2016 summer solstice 60 per cent of those polled by EH travelled by car share to Stonehenge and more than a quarter of people travelled by public transport.

According to the organisation, a lift sharing community it set up for the winter solstice resulted in a saving of 2.63 tonnes of carbon dioxide and 13,364 miles.

However Mr Pendragon has not given up in his battle to achieve free parking saying he would be "challenging EH one way or another" and expects a "stand-off" at the event.

He said: "I still think that the charging of pilgrims at solstices is illegal under the European Convention for Human Rights and the Human Rights Act, and I will be challenging it in every way possible.

"It is my intention to turn up at the solstice - but I do not intend to pay to pray."

n Following terror attacks in Manchester and London additional security measures will be in place, including bag checks and restrictions on what can be brought into the Monument Field.

Superintendent Dave Minty, of Wiltshire Police, said “At Stonehenge there will be an increased number of officers and staff this year carrying out high visibility patrols, and as a further precaution visitors may see armed police officers in the vicinity.

"I must stress that this is not due to any increase in threat or change in the intelligence picture surrounding the event or the county as a whole but we feel that these measures may help reassure the public that we are doing everything we can to keep them safe. We encourage people to chat to all our officers if they have any concerns or questions and as always we need people to report any suspicious activity.

"If you are at the event and are at all worried please approach an officer or member of the security team or call 999 in an emergency."