Legend has it that St Edmund was put to death by a volley of arrows

St George was promoted to patron saint in 1061 but the position was originally held by St Edmund who gave his name to Bury St Edmunds where he is buried.

The campaign was launched by the BBC in Suffolk to try to reinstate the 9th century king of East Anglia who was captured and put to death by Vikings.

BBC Radio Suffolk breakfast presenter Mark Murphy launched the campaign.

'No dragons, no maidens'

"The Irish have taken St Patrick to their hearts and have a massive party on his special day and no matter how hard we try St George seems to leave many people cold," he said.

The campaign has also received the backing of the MP for Bury St Edmunds David Ruffley and local historians.

Historian Clive Paine said: "There are no added bits to the story, there is no dragon, there are no maidens, which were all added to St George's story much later on to make him part of chivalry.

"With Edmund, like the rest of us Anglo Saxons, what you see is what you get."

Shot with arrows

Edmund ruled the Anglo Saxon realm of East Anglia from 855 AD to 869 AD.

He was 15 when he became king and died at the hands of Viking raiders.

Legend has it that unwilling to renounce his faith he was shot with arrows and beheaded.

St George - a Roman soldier - was initially promoted to patron saint in 1061 when a church in Doncaster was dedicated to him.