‘Over before it had really begun’: The last time Britain was invaded? No, it wasn’t 1066

The last invasion of Britain was more recent than you think and is an astonishing tale of botched plans, bad luck and drunken soldiers, writes David Barnett

A mosaic commemorating the Last invasion of Britain at Goodwick, Fishguard, Pembrokeshire, Wales (Alamy)

When was the last time foreign invaders set foot on British soil?

If you said 1066, when William the Conqueror defeated King Harold at the Battle of Hastings, ushering the age of the Norman conquest of Britain, lose five points.

The last invasion of Britain took place considerably more recently than that… just 225 years ago this week, in fact.