He is best known as Captain Calamity, the hapless wannabe round-the-world navigator who only made it 100 miles from home before being rescued at huge public expense.

Now, a decade and a half after he was plucked from a dinghy in the North Sea, Stuart Hill is coming to terms with another disaster, an electoral one.

Mr Hill stood in the last month's general election in Orkney and Shetland, campaigning for the islands' independence. He came last. His response? He wants the police to arrest his victor, MP Alistair Carmichael, and Prime Minister Theresa May for holding the ballot in the first place.

The Englishman has made formal complaints of election fraud based on his view that Orkney and Shetland are illegally occupied.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, he said: “It is well known by the UK and Scottish governments that they do not have any real authority in Orkney and Shetland. They know it and the courts know it, but they continue to exercise power here because the people are conned into sending elected representatives to their parliaments."

He added: "Before the election, I warned the Prime minister, the Electoral Commission, the Returning Officer, Alistair Buchan and his deputy, Jan Riise, and all the candidates that the election was illegal because no court has heard any proof that Shetland or Orkney are part of Scotland. By going ahead with the election in Orkney and Shetland, they have all knowingly acted outside their authority.

"The election was a giant fraud on the people of Orkney and Shetland and I had no option but to report this to the police."

Theresa May accused of electoral fraud

When Mr Hill was forced in to his rescue at sea, he blamed the weather. The RNLI said he was not properly prepared. After his election failure, he blamed the system.

On his website he said he was surprised to have come last in last month's poll. He said: "Contrary to my expectations, I came last in the polling, only managing 245 votes.

"I am told that I'm the first independent candidate to exceed 1 per cent of the vote in this constituency, but that is small comfort. If the response I was getting on the doorstep was anything to go by, I should have won it!"

Mr Hill in 2008 declared a one-hectare island he called Forvik - but known on maps as Forewick Holm - to be an independent state and not part of the UK or the EU. He was later convicted of driving what he said was a "consular vehicle" and sentenced to community payback order. After failing to comply with the courts, he was jailed for 16 days.

The pensioner followed his original 2001 round-the-world attempt with several other maritime adventures. He was rescued in 2008 by from what some critics called a "floating wardrobe" off Shetland.

Orkney and Shetland have been part of Scotland since 1468 after being given as security for a royal dowry that was not paid.

Shetland

Some unionist politicians mooted that the islands - where voters backed both both the British and European unions in successive referendums - may chose to leave Scotland in the event of independence. Support for Orkney and Shetland independence, however, is extremely low. One poll, in 2013, put the number at around eight per cent.