FINGER OF SUSPICION: Roger ludlam with the pennant and ransom note.

ONE Hampshire publican has found out the hard way that Saints fans don't take defeat lying down. Lifetime Fulham supporter Roger Ludlam was proud to display his team's colours behind the bar of his Bursledon pub.

And the landlord of the Crows Nest pub, off the A27, took every opportunity to crow over Fulham's victories against the pub-regulars' home team. However, the 45-year-old was left "sick as a parrot" when his treasured team pennant mysteriously disap-peared.

And when he started receiving ransom notes he knew foul deeds were afoot.

Father-of-two Roger said: "It had only been there for a week and then it was gone.

"A ransom note came through on the fax machine demanding £500 for its safe return."

The note told Roger to put the money into a dustbin outside a post office in Lowford at midnight.

He said: "I put a bogus swag bag in the bin while a friend hid in bushes to see who would collect. "Unfortunately, he was spotted and nobody turned up."

Roger then received a second fax and third fax upping the ransom.

"The third fax warned me that it was my last chance and that the kid-nappers were putting up the ransom to £1,500. This time we made the drop and put a bag full of play-money into the bin.

"The next day I walked into the bar and the pennant was hanging up after five days missing." Happily reunited behind the bar with his pennant, Roger is not bitter over the prank played on him by his regulars.

He said: "As Fulham have beaten Southampton twice this year we've had a fair bit of fun at the expense of my regulars. This was obviously their way of getting back at me.

"There's no hard feelings and I'll still serve them - they'll just have to be on bended-knee."

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