ADLINGTON Carnival organisers are baffled after the kidnapping of this four ft tall stuffed little devil.

The scarlet cuddly toy was to be the prize in the carnival "Guess my Name" competition and had been sitting in the window of Balloons Galore, in Chorley Road, for two weeks.

Last Saturday, the owner of the specialist card and gift shop, Brian Parkinson, moved the teddy to prepare his window for the carnival. It wasn't until the end of the day that he realised it had vanished. Mr Parkinson, who has owned the shop for 10 years, said: "I thought I was going mad. I knew I had moved it, then it wasn't there. I hadn't noticed anything unusual, the only thing that was out of the ordinary was that someone had asked to buy it the day before."

When Mr Parkinson returned to work on Monday he was greeted by a hand-written ransom note reading, "Your horny devil has been kidnapped, await further news".

Mr Parkinson said: "Nothing like this has ever happened before."

Carnival organiser Colin Prescott said: "It may well be a joke because we've had something like this happen in the past, but it may not be, and if it isn't returned by next weekend we will have to buy a replacement. The last thing we would want is to disappoint the children who have entered to guess its name."

A poster is now in the window asking for information on the devil's mysterious disappearance. Anyone who knows anything can contact Balloons Galore on 01257 483663.