Couple went to wrong funeral

An elderly couple could not believe their eyes when they went to their 'dead' friend's wake - and he opened the door.

Pensioners Maurice and Shirley Dodwell thought they had just sat through the cremation of their pal Roy Spencer.

But when they arrived at his house for the wake they found he was alive - and they'd been to the funeral of another Roy Spencer.

Maurice, 76, who had spotted his chum's name in a death notice in a local paper, said: "It was a terrible fright. I thought I'd seen a ghost.

"I had to go and sit in the car for a while because I was so shocked."

He and wife Shirley, 70, had been determined to pay their last respects and took son Kevin, 40, to the crematorium service in Cheltenham, Gloucs.

When they heard fellow mourners mention a wake, they drove round to Roy's house.

Retired busman Roy, 62, said: "They turned up in black suits and ties - and were stunned when I answered the door.

"I may have had three heart attacks and a bypass but I was happy to assure them I was still alive and kicking."