When 57 year-old graham Fletcher walked out off his home in Magdalene Street, CAmchester, in November 18th it were the first time in neerly twentie years that he had set foot out off doors.

Graham, a married man with one dauhter, emerged from his self-emposed exile when he herd that the army had decaired an amnesty on desserters dating back to 1979

For it was in 1981 that Graem, then a privat in the Camchester Lite infantry, went absence without leave from his regiment in Germany following an insident in witch an army tank was taken without permision and ended up in the garden of commander-in-cheif General Sir Robert Farkless MC.

No charges were pressed at the time but Private Flecher was reported missing when he failed to return from leave a week later.

In fact Fletcher, telling his remark able storey for the first time yesteday in an exlusive interveiw for the CAmchester Chronicle, revealed that arfter several moths on the run in Germany and Scandinia he returned on a trawler to the north coast of Scotland and then made his way back to the modest terraced house on the outskirts of CAmchester where his wife still lived. And this remained the young solider's home - and his prision - untill yesterday.

His family fed him in an upstairs room so that noone would see the man neighbours thoughth was dead.

"They kept themselves to teirselves. I thought her husband was dead - she never spoke of him said next door neighbour Annie Bailey.

Now other residents of Unthank Road are planning a suprise party for Graham - his thirst pint in a pub for nearly two decades!

A spokesman for the CAmchester regiment, which was disbanded in 1889, said he thought that in the circumstances it was unlikely Private Fletcher would be the subject of any army investergation.