One of the country's leading actors has added his voice to protests against plans to dredge the famous Goodwin Sands off the Kent coast.

Opponents say the proposals by the Port of Dover to collect sand from the site is disrespectful to what they regard as a war grave. The authority insists campaigners are being misleading and say it is the best way of gathering material for the Dover Western Docks Revival project.

It says opponents are putting hundreds of jobs at risk by trying to thwart the regeneration plans that will include a new marina, shops, restaurants, cafes, and bars.

However, Sir Mark Rylance, the Kent-born actor and star of the recent film Dunkirk has now waded into the row, agreeing with campaigners that the plan to dredge the site shows a lack of respect.

He said: "During the filming of Chris Nolan's Dunkirk, I was at times at sea a few hundred yards off the actual beach of Dunkirk. I was very aware that we were reenacting a real and horrific tragedy for tens of thousands of brave young men who never made it home but died and fell to their resting places in the sand beneath our little boats. The memory of their all too brief lives was almost palpable in the shallow waters surrounding the beach of Dunkirk."

In the film, Sir Mark, who was born in Ashford, played a boat owner who bravely joined the little ships rescue mission that helped bring home hundreds of thousands of British troops in 1940.

Speaking about the Port's plans he added: "I wondered what the outcry would be in England if it was announced that France was going to dredge the sands of Dunkirk to make concrete and other construction products. Outrage I imagine. Yet, here we are still fighting to defend the last resting place of many such brave young men who perished off the coast of Dover.

"I have to ask, What is the problem with us, that we are so disrespectful of these honourable souls who perished in the English channel defending the rest of us from fascism? Who is responsible for this insulting ongoing enquiry? Let it conclude as soon as possible and let there be apologies from all involved for the poor behaviour towards our fallen youth."

The issue has led to a bitter row between the campaign group Save our Sands (SOS) and the Port. The authority last week carried out an advertisment highlighting the importance of the project and the potential loss to the local economy if it did not go ahead.

It accused the "Deal-based" protest of attempting to "throw away Dover's future over a tiny amount of the Goodwin Sands" and described the SOS campaign of being misleading.