THE BATTLE for the Bayeux Tapestry is hotting up after another contender with a strong connection to William the Conqueror entered the ring.

A petition has been drawn up in a bold bid to bring the world-famous artwork to Pevensey, near Eastbourne, where the French pretender landed before overwhelming King Harold’s troops at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

On Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed plans to lend the 940-year old cloth to the UK in 2020, prompting a scramble from Sussex politicians for the right to display it in their pocket of 1066 Country.

The tapestry and the events it depicts have become synonymous with Hastings.

But Pevensey Town Trust chair Robert Slater said the village played a key role in the French invasion.

He said: “Pevensey often gets ignored in England.

“But if you ask people in France they’ve usually heard of us – and that’s because of the link with 1066.

“Our campaign is a bit of humour to raise Pevensey’s profile.”

William landed at Pevensey Bay the night before the fighting, lashing together a temporary shelter inside the walls of the existing Saxon Shore fort.

The Court House Museum on the High Street is now home to an embroidered representation of the landing scene, stitched in the medieval fashion.

William sailed back to France from the same beach the following year, taking seven hostages with him - including the Archbishop of Canterbury himself.

Years later, he returned to build the stronghold now known as Pevensey Castle.

Mr Slater’s petition has been signed by 26 people so far, including one from New York.

He says his bluff would be called if the Court House - the smallest court in the country - was chosen to house the 230ft tapestry.

He said: “We would have to be very inventive but the curator would be over the moon.”

With rumours swirling that the British Museum would be the tapestry’s preferred demonstration, Bexhill and Battle MP Huw Merriman and Hastings MP Amber Rudd stood up in the Commons to make the case for their constituencies.

Mr Merriman said: “London is in no need for extra tourism whereas the influx in visitors and the resulting interest, would be a huge boost to the local economy.”