CHIPPENHAM NEWS: Allen Gittens has received mail from bloodthirsty youngsters asking for training to become vampire slayers.

Mr Gittens, of Westcroft, Chippenham, blames the success of TV series Buffy The Vampire Slayer for marked changes in the vampire world.

The former editor of For The Blood Is The Life magazine, is quick to dispel rumours that he sleeps in a coffin, and being a vegetarian, he has no thirst for human blood. But he admits being batty about the phenomenon.

Mr Gittens, who owns more than 800 books on vampires and Gothic literature, said: "It's true, the entire world of vampires and vampire research has been turned upside down by Buffy.

"I'm no longer being asked to help my correspondents find a vampire to make them immortal. The emerging trend is for young people to ask if I'd meet them after school and train them to be vampire slayers.

"Now, it may be the case that I'm no longer as young, or as slim, as I used to be, and I do tend to spend a great deal of my time surrounded by books on vampires, and these days I need to wear glasses. As for training someone to hunt and kill vampires . Well, someone would have to train me first."

Mr Gittens' interest started about 30 years ago after reading classic Gothic literature which sparked a passion for ghost stories. This, coupled with a love for Hammer horror movies led him into a life devoted to research and, subsequently, he went on to produce the publication For The Blood Is The Life, which became the journal of the Vampyre Society.

The journal, which ran quarterly from 1987 to 1997, contained a mix of reviews, articles and features on vampirism.

Two years ago, following a flood of letters inquiring about the fate of the publication, Allen decided to re-launch it under a different name.

Although no longer the newsletter for the Vampyre Society, Lifeblood contains reviews and research articles.

Mr Gittens said: "I used to write a magazine quarterly but now I send one out to people on a mailing list whenever I have the time."

Answering the time-old question about whether vampires really exist, the 48-year-old said: "I would really love to know that but I'm sure they exist for some people."