'Dead man' was just on holiday

A MAN who forgot to tell anyone he was going on holiday to Australia came home to find they were mourning his death.

The confusion began in June, when 49-year-old Michael O'Neill, from Middlesbrough, England, made a last-minute decision to head Down Under without telling a soul.

His neighbours grew worried and called police,who broke into his flat and found no evidence of his where abouts.

The situation grew even worse last week when his friends saw a death notice in a local newspaper. By an incredible coincidence, another Michael O'Neill from Middlesbrough had died - and both have brothers named Kevin and Terry.

"I went out on June 2 to stay with a friend and when I got back last Monday I found my door had been smashed in," the living Mr O'Neill told Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper.

"My neighbours thought I had died so they got in touch with police who came and broke the door down.

"Everywhere I am going, people I know are grabbing hold of my hand, saying, 'I thought you were dead!' They can't believe it's me and I'm still alive."