SEVERAL Newport County soccer players - and their coach driver - were taken to hospital suffering from a mystery bug on their way home from a game.

County were in the south of England for a few days as part of their pre-season training, playing two games, firstly Wimborne Town, then Lymington and New Milton on Saturday.

Just before the second game on Saturday afternoon a couple of players complained of feeling unwell.

The driver was also affected, but was determined to get the party back to Wales.

But his condition deteriorated, and the coach was forced to pull in at a motorway service station where several players became unwell.

Tim Harris, County manager, said: "Players were not just being sick - they were violently ill. I have never experienced anything like it. It was really like a scene from Casualty, although if you had written it as a script they wouldn't have gone for it."

Player Richard French and coach driver Dave Lewer were kept at the Southampton General Hospital overnight on Saturday and discharged yesterday afternoon.

Player Allan Stevenson went to the Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport and physiotherapist John Fitzgerald stayed with him all evening.

Mr Stevenson was today said to be in a "comfortable condition" by a spokeswoman at the hospital.

County chairman Wallace Brown was on his way home when boss Harris contacted him. Mr Brown drove back to Southampton, finally arriving home in the early hours of yesterday with two players, Scott Walker and Lee Stanton.

Mr Brown added: "We don't know the reason for the illness but inquiries are being made. "It would be wrong to jump to any conclusions because that doesn't help anyone."

Mr Harris said: "For so many people to be affected it is definitely something they have eaten but we have to be careful what we say.

"Within a couple of hours it had gone from affecting a couple of players to 13 or 14.

"I want to be very diplomatic over what I say, but this was not a 'jolly' and players certainly had not been drinking. It was a great exercise and it is disappointing that it ended this way."