A CHARTERED accountant who claims to have met - and birched - Mary Queen of Scots has published a bizarre account of a series of meetings he says happened in previous lives.

Neil Burns, 59, of Kidderminster, who was born in Scotland, is adamant Haunted by Mary Queen of Scots is meant to be taken seriously and said sales of his book, which was published last month, were going well, particularly at WH Smith, in Kidderminster. Author and chartered accountant Neil Burns who has published a book on his meetings with Mary, Queen of Scots.

Mr Burns, who has previously published A Few Special Ghosts I Have Met, which chronicled claims of encounters with a number of spooks, including the writer Sir Walter Scott and Mary Queen of Scots, said: "I am perfectly sane, if a little eccentric."

With the help of a hypnotherapist, the father of two has been able to "recall" past lives as Anthony Babington, later executed for his part in a plot to depose Elizabeth I, as well as a 13-year-old German schoolboy in the 1930s and an Inca mathematician.

The author, who boasts a "very special relationship" with the former monarch, also executed for plotting to oust Elizabeth I, says he has met Mary on 12 occasions during the course of her life, from her childhood, aged three, to shortly before her death, aged 40.

In the most fantastical of these, the writer, as young Babington, enters Sheffield Tower unannounced to discover the Queen clad only in "French underwear," stockings and boots. He is subsequently commanded to birch her in a scene which any reporter would feel obliged to withdraw from, having made his excuses, long before it approaches its climax.

On another occasion, the Queen appears to the writer, in his present incarnation, as he is about to tee off at the 14th hole of St Andrew's gold course.

To encourage an appearance by Mary, the writer had persuaded a friend, Sarah, to dress as one of her ladies-in-waiting. He is not disappointed.

"On the fifteenth...I heard a voice say: "One hole up is enough young Anthony," and I felt the prickles go up again, up the back of my neck."

WH Smith confirmed sales of the book are going well, particularly for one "with no local interest", with half a dozen being sold in the first week, and the same again since. A spokesman for the Kidderminster shop said they had not received any complaints.

Haunted by Mary Queen of Scots is published by JocknDoris, price £5.99.