AS approximately 85 per cent of you will know, today is St George's Day. And to mark that occasion ale brewer, Wells Bombardier, has conducted an online poll to find England's ultimate heroes.

Heading the poll, with 30 per cent of the vote, is wartime Prime Minister, Winston Churchill. The wartime leader helped Britain to victory in the Second World War, making his v-sign famous around the globe.

"He's the greatest leader this country has ever had, simple as that," says Colin Tabor, a businessmen from Lymington and founder of stgeorgesday.com - a website campaigning for April 23 to be a bank holiday.

Second in the poll, in which two thousand people voted, is the man himself, St George.

Unfortunately, his heroics as a soldier of the Roman Empire - which apparently saw him slay a fire-breathing dragon - gained him just 21 per cent of the vote, not enough to claim his own victory.

Thanks to his sterling efforts in the Napoleonic Wars, Lord Nelson rounds out Bombardier's top three English heroes. The admiral, who died in the Battle of Trafalgar, was famous for going against the conventional war tactics of the time and winning anyway.

The one-armed, one-eyed hero was also infamous for his exploits between the sheets, when he became embroiled in an affair with the wife of British diplomat, William Hamilton.

Surprising, considering you can't get through school without reading his work, William Shakespeare languishes in fourth, with eight per cent of the vote.

Regarded as the greatest English writer of all time, the poet and playwright's work has been translated into every major language and inspired films, books and other artists around the world.

In joint fifth is the outlaw, Robin Hood and the legendary England defender, Bobby Moore.

Folklore and legend have it that back in medieval times, Robin Hood led a band of "merry men" and between them dished out their own brand of justice in Sherwood Forest, by robbing from the rich to provide for the poor.

Robin Hood, his bow and arrow and his merry men have been the subject of dozens of films, television programmes, books and plays.

Meanwhile England and West Ham football captain, Bobby Moore, who also got four per cent of the vote, will be best remembered for playing a key role in England's only World Cup winning team in 1966. "Of course Bobby Moore has to be in there," says Colin. "He was a great footballer."

To this day Moore remains England's most capped outfield player, fully deserving his place in the hero hall of fame.

The only female to feature in Bombardier's top ten English heroes is Queen Victoria. Her reign lasted just over 63 and-a-half years, the longest reign of any British monarch to date.

Despite tough competition from fictional characters such as James Bond and wheeler-dealer, Del Boy, Sir Isaac Newton, Henry VIII and Charles Dickins round out the top ten.

Newton was a celebrated genius in mathematics, science and philosophy and did deserve to beat Henry VIII, a controversial hero, made infamous for divorcing and beheading his wives and dissolving the monasteries. "I can't work out how he got in there," laughs Colin.

Charles Dickens would perhaps turn in his grave that celebrated novels such as The Adventures of Oliver Twist and David Copperfield didn't see him beat a king renowned for his waistline and womanising.

"England's ultimate icon should be the person that best represents the pride of England," says Wells. Bombardier brewery chief Paul Wells. "And Winston Churchill certainly does that."