Ref. 27942-38A REWARD has been made for the return of a rugby fan that has followed the fortunes of England at home and abroad.

Claverton the bear has gone missing and his owner and avid Bath Rugby supporter Martin Burton, 48, is pleading for his return and will give £25 to anyone who can find him.

The teddy has even had his picture taken with the Heineken Cup which Bath held for a year after winning the European championship against Brive in Bordeaux in 1998.

Martin and his wife Jeanette, 39, of St Andrew's Ridge, have five other bears they take to matches dressed up as fans. They were made by the company belonging to Andrew Brownsword who owns Bath RFC.

Jeanette, a human resources manager, bought Martin the bear ten years ago as a lucky mascot while he was studying for a masters in business administration.

So when Martin went to sit some more exams recently he took the bear dressed a student with a cap and satchel along with him to the Pilgrim Centre in Swindon.

But when he opened his bag Claverton was missing and he believes he must have dropped out between the Brunel multi-storey car park and Regent Street on Tuesday.

Martin said: "I was so upset when I realised that he was gone. He was very important to me for nostalgic reasons because he helped me through my exams.

"Claverton was the first bear of this type I had.

"He is named after Claver-ton the campus of Bath Uni-versity where I studied."

Jeanette is equally upset by the loss.

She said: "I have to say I cried when I drove back home from some work I had been doing in York at the thought that Claverton would not see the rugby world cup.

"We are such big rugby fans and it is important to take our bears with us.

"We even chose our car a Class A Mercedes because the colour matched the Bath blue shirts.

"We have no children and our bears are our surrogate kids."

Claverton, who has light brown fur was wearing a red and blue cap and carrying a satchel.

If you find him contact Martin on 01793 701834 or 07769 702955.

Catherine Turnbull