RAF Cosford's Dornier at centre of battle to save sands from the dredgers

It is the resting place of scores airmen from both the RAF and Luftwaffe who lost their lives in the Battle of Britain.

The stretch of sand is also where a German Dornier bomber was recovered before being taken to RAF Cosford, where it is now being meticulously restored.

But the English Channel bank where the Dornier crashed is now at the centre of a bitter battle amid plans to bring in dredgers.

More than 10,000 people have signed a petition to stop the Dover Harbour Board dredging Goodwin Sands for gravel to expand cargo facilities and build a marina at Dover port.

Actor Mark Rylance, star of hit film Big Friendly Giant and TV's Wolf Hall, is among those behind the SOS (Save Our Sands) campaign.

Sonar imaging on the Kent sands revealed the plane in its watery grave

They said the raising of the Dornier in 2013 is proof that the sands should be left undisturbed because of its status as a war memorial.

Rylance has urged developers to "respect the graves" adding: "Would they dredge an ancient graveyard or battlefield?"

The actor is joined by Miriam Margolyes, whose home on top of the white cliffs of Dover overlooks the Goodwins.

The Harry Potter actress said: "Battle of Britain planes and pilots could be disturbed and war graves desecrated. I am profoundly disgusted at this plan."

The Goodwin Sands is a notorious 10-mile stretch of shifting sandbanks off the Kent coast, near Deal. During the bitter aerial combat of 1940, at least 60 British and German aircraft plummeted into the sandbank from the skies. The Goodwins has also seen more than 2,000 shipwrecks – in the Great Storm of 1703, on one night alone 1,200 men were lost on its banks.

SOS campaigners warned that the plan to remove 2.5 million cubic metres of sand and gravel will not only disturb the wrecks but will cause coastal erosion, endanger delicate ecosystems and wildlife, including a large seal colony.

Darren Priday, conservation manager, inside the Dornier at RAF Cosford

But it is the threat to the graves of RAF pilots that has caused most anger.

The Dornier Do17 was shot down on August 26, 1940. It was raised in 2013 after sonar images revealed it buried in the sand. Experts at RAF Cosford Museum have been working on it ever since and it will eventually be given pride of place at Cosford's sister museum in Hendon, north London.

The petition will be presented by Dover MP Charlie Elphicke, who said: "It is critical to ensure that no war graves are disturbed and that no ecology is damaged."