Winchester'S most colourful prospective political leader, druid priest and eco-warrior King Arthur Pendragon, has entered a TV contest designed to find Britain a new politician.

Arthur, who was the central figure in the environmental battle over the park-and-ride extension at Bar End in Winchester last summer, has applied to take part in the new ITV reality show to be screened next year.

In the show, called Vote for Me, contestants will vie for the attention of viewers by persuading them their political aims are better than their rivals'.

The winner will be the candidate to receive the highest number of public votes, with the victor then encouraged to stand in the real elections, due to take place next May.

The show's producers say the idea is to find a new political star while re-engaging people, especially younger viewers, on the importance of politics.

This comes at a time when recent figures suggest more people voted for contestants in the ITV show Pop Idol than voted in the last general election.

The judging panel also boasts some heavy-weight political figures, with the lead taken by former ITV political editor John Sergeant.

Entry to the show will be open to anyone over the age of 21 who is entitled to vote and who is of no particular political affiliation.

However, bosses at production company Mentorn say they are particularly keen to hear from credible and serious contestants with bags of charisma.

Arthur said: "I'm all for free speech and getting people interested in politics.

"However, the real reason I'm entering is that there is a serious issue to be raised here and I hope this show will give minority political groups the chance to be heard.

"My interest in standing as a politician in Winchester was sparked by the miscarriage of justice over the Bar End Meadow, and the lack of integrity in the political process in Winchester."

Current Winchester MP, Liberal Democrat Mark Oaten has welcomed Arthur's entry.

He said: "I think the programme is a really good idea to get young people to engage in politics.

"I hope that King Arthur Pendragon is selected as it will give me the opportunity to vote him out in week one."

A spokesman for the show said a decision on who to select had not been made yet, but added that Arthur sounded like the sort of person the contest was looking for.