CULINARY queen Delia Smith's website was hijacked by football fans who reached boiling point over the collapse of takeover talks at Norwich City, it has emerged.

Russell Claydon

CULINARY queen Delia Smith's website was hijacked by football fans who reached boiling point over the collapse of takeover talks at Norwich City, it has emerged.

Supporters dished out abuse on Delia's internet site, usually a place for cooking enthusiasts to swap recipe ideas and seek help with their soufflés, in the wake of the breakdown of a billionaire's attempt to buy the controlling slice of the Norfolk club.

Delia and her husband, Michael Wynn-Jones, who live near Stowmarket, rejected the takeover tabled by Peter Cullum - Britain's 40th richest man.

Some Canaries' fans are furious the bid was turned down at a time when manager Glenn Roeder is struggling to invest in players capable of taking the team back to the Premiership.

It is understood one supporter wrote on the cook's official website forum over the weekend: “A title for your next book - how about How To Cheat Norwich Fans Out Of The Club That Is Rightfully Theirs?”

Another fan added: “I have a friend who owns a struggling football club. Some rich sort had the gall to want to invest £20 million in new players to avoid another season of scrapping around the drop zone.

“My friend told them where to stick the money, I can tell you! Did they do the right thing?”

The football banter was taken down from the community pages of Delia Online on Saturday.

The site editor wrote: “I've removed all the posts that appeared late last night.

“It's good to allow open and free debate but football isn't relevant to a cookery site and many of the comments were extremely offensive.”