TOTTON & Eling believed they had uncovered a hidden gem when they signed defender Tim Stephenson.

But, unfortunately, the big centre-back wasn’t quite the ‘discovery’ they thought he was.

Andy Tipp, chairman of the Sydenhams One club, explained: “Tim’s a friend of our right-back Callum Davies and we thought ‘this is good’ when he signed for us.

“But it turned out he’d played for John Pyatt at Bashley and John’s now taken him to Lymington Town.

“John told us he was going to put a seven-dayer in and we didn’t stand in Tim’s way.

“We thought when we signed him that he was under the radar and people didn’t know him, but we were wrong. John was straight on it!

“There are no hard feelings. I like John, he’s done us a few favours over the years. It’s just football.”

Stephenson actually had a professional contract at AFC Bournemouth only to be held back by persistent thigh and knee injuries.

He joined Bashley in 2012 when his contract expired at Dean Court and went on to captain the New Forest club.

Two years ago he signed for Southern League outfit Frome Town where he linked up again with his former Cherries youth coach Brian O’Donnell.

The versatile defender did not break into Bournemouth's first team, but was named on the substitutes' bench for an FA Cup tie at Notts County.