STAFF at a Hampshire hotel could not believe their ears when they heard who was coming to stay for a spot of fly fishing.

They may have had their fair share of celebrities at the Lainston House Hotel - but it was the first time they could boast a former leader of the free world.

While US president George W Bush wrestles with the problems of the world such as the war on terrorism and the handover of power in Iraq, his father, who was president from 1988-92, was taking things a little easier.

He was enjoying a spot of angling on the River Test and staying at the luxurious four-star hotel at Sparsholt near Winchester.

Hotel manager Julian Tomlin confirmed that Mr Bush and a team of assistants, secret service men and CID officers stayed for four nights in a suite of rooms last week.

Mr Tomlin said: "He was on a personal fishing trip with some good friends. I think he enjoyed his stay. He caught a number of fish.

"It is important for us to be discreet about who comes and stays with us, before during and after the stay.

"Mr Bush was happy to eat in the main dining room for lunch and dinner every day and shake the hands of other residents. I think that knowledge of his stay is public.

"He was very open to greeting other guests, a very personable sort of gentleman. There was little disruption. We always try to keep this to an absolute minimum.

"It's the first time he has stayed here but not the last!"

The former president will celebrate his 80th birthday this Saturday. He left the hotel on Saturday, the same day that his presidential predecessor, Ronald Reagan, died at the age of 93.

Mr Tomlin said the hotel did not keep a guest book for residents to sign. He did confirm that they create a personal profile of all their guests before they arrive, detailing their likes and dislikes. Mr Tomlin said former President Bush had not been accompanied by his wife Barbara. "He did say that she would have enjoyed the trip and that he hoped she would join him here in the future."

The four-star hotel, a 17th-century mansion, is situated in 63 acres of lush parkland and boasts 50 bedrooms.

The brochures promises discretion and confidentiality at all times. It is used to high-profile guests including politicians such as former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and film stars such as John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis and Kevin Kline when they filmed Fierce Creatures at Marwell Zoo in the mid-1990s.

Mr Tomlin said the hotel has also had European royalty and other former US presidents, although he declined to say who they were.

It is not the first time a former US president has astonished people in Hampshire.

In 1999 regulars at a quiet pub in Dunbridge, near Romsey, got the shock of their lives when Jimmy Carter dropped in for a drink. With an entourage including no fewer than ten secret service agents, his party had booked all six guest rooms at The Mill Arms.

The Carters were the guests of Orvis, a fishing tackle company with a branch in nearby Stockbridge.