THE FORCE was certainly with the people of Southampton when they completed the 2001 census.

The city has one of the highest proportions in the country of people who, when asked about their religious belief, replied with the word 'Jedi'.

When the latest set of census results were published yesterday they showed that 1.8 per cent of Southampton respondents said they subscribed to the belief system at the heart of the Star Wars films - and that was more than double the national average of 0.7 per cent.

They were responding to an Internet campaign which claimed that if enough people quoted 'Jedi' the government would be forced to officially recognise it as a religion.

"Do it because you love Star Wars or just to annoy people," it urged.

Southampton didn't need to be told twice and, pens poised like light sabres, the form-fillers rose to the challenge.

The census form's section on religion was the only question that was not compulsory.

It gave a series of tick-boxes for the major religions, a tick-box for 'none' and then a space in which to write 'any other religion'.

The 'Jedi' response was most popular in Brighton and Hove, with 2.6 per cent of respondents signing up.

But Southampton ranked fifth out of 376 areas in England and Wales, behind Oxford, Wandsworth and Cambridge.

Countrywide, seven people in every thousand - a

total of 390,000 out of 52,000,000 - gave their religion as 'Jedi'.

Director of reporting and analysis at the Segensworth-based Office for National Statistics John Pullinger said: "Whatever its motive, the Jedi campaign may have worked in favour of the census exercise.

"Census agencies worldwide report difficulties encouraging those in their late teens and 20s to complete their forms.

"We suspect that the Jedi response was most common in precisely this age group."