The location of one of the most famous battles in British history has been called into question.

Historian Nick Austin has claimed that the Battle of Hastings which took place in 1066, was actually fought near Crowhurst, two miles south of the village of Battle.

He believes the bloody encounter between the armies of Harold and William the Conqueror did not take place in Battle at all but in a place the Normans called Herste.

Mr Austin has spent the past 24 years piecing together information from the Domesday Book and other medieval documents.

He has written a book, Secrets of the Norman Invasion, where he says there are clues in the Bayeux Tapestry which point to the battle being fought in fields near Crowhurst.

Roy Porter, English Heritage's territory properties curator for the south, said Mr Austin's theory raised important questions about the interpretation of medieval sources. But said on balance there was little reason to suppose that the battle took place elsewhere.

He added that English Heritage took providing accurate historical information very seriously.