A BID to get royal status for Fishguard and Goodwick has been unsuccessful.

Earlier this year the town council sent a letter to Her Majesty the Queen asking for the twin towns to be granted royal status in recognition of its people fending off the last invasion of Britain.

The letter stated: “In 1797 the residents of Fishguard and Goodwick succeeded in containing and stopping an attempted invasion by a joint Irish and French invasion force.”

The letter goes on to say that Fishguard and Goodwick are two of the only towns to stop an attempted invasion on British soil, but have never been formally recognised.

According to legend, Napoleon’s soldiers had inadvertently landed in Fishguard after being blown off course. Armed with just a pitchfork, local heroine Jemima Nicholas single-handedly captured 12 Frenchmen and led them back into town. She then organised the women to dress up in traditional Welsh costume and line up along the hill so that the Frenchmen would think they were the British army. The soldiers later surrendered at the Royal Oak pub.

Reporting back at town council, the clerk, Sarah McColl-Dorion told councillors she had received a letter from the Privy Council Office in London stating ‘that charters are no longer granted to towns’.

The letter included a web address informing the town council about the possibility of applying for ‘royal’ as a prefix to the town names. Councillor Mike Mayberry proposed that the clerk seek more information and all agreed.