'Dead' man alive and kicking

A father-of-five had the shock of a lifetime when he returned from holiday to find friends and family convinced that he had died. Steve Lewis, 47, was skiing in Andorra with his wife Sandra, 46, and youngest daughter Jodie when rumours began circulating back in Gloucester that he had been involved in a serious accident.

His family was inundated with calls from people concerned about his welfare, starting two days after they went skiing on January 13.

Despite his best efforts, rumours of Steve's death began to spread around the city within days - much to the distress of his friends and family.



"To be honest at first I thought it was quite funny but the joke soon wore off when my daughter called up in floods of tears believing I was dead", Steve said.

But he was flabbergasted to discover that, despite his claims, the speculation of his demise continued to gather pace.

"You would think that if you told people you were alive, they would believe you, but that didn't seem to be the case. I have no idea how this rumour started but it seems to just keep on going. If it was someone's idea of a joke they have a pretty sick sense of humour."