Mourners spot 'dead' man
2005-08-30 11:37
London - Mourners who paid their last respects to a British war veteran were stunned to see him strolling through the town shortly after the funeral, newspapers said on Tuesday.
Friends of the former bus driver travelled from far and wide to attend the cremation after reading the death notice of a Frank Hughes in a local newspaper.
In a bizarre mix-up, the dead man being cremated had the same name and age and lived in the same northeast English town of Darlington as the mourners' beloved Frank.
Pals of the 80-year-old World War 2 veteran even mingled with relatives after paying their respects at the service.
No wonder they were astonished to see him wandering about the town later on.
Hughes said in The Sun: "One of them came flying across to me, saying, 'Frank, Frank, Frank, I can't believe it'.
"He said, 'I'm going to have to tell my wife straight away, she's been absolutely devastated.'
"Now I'm getting sick of people stopping me and telling me that I'm still alive."
- AFP