A pair of lookalike strangers with the exact same name were left baffled after being seated next to each other on a long-haul flight. In an incredible coincidence Mark Garland, from Warmley near Bristol, came across his 'doppelganger' Mark Garland from Trowbridge in Wiltshire.
The passengers, who both ended up on the same flight to Bangkok in Thailand, initially caused airline staff some confusion when it came to boarding at Heathrow Terminal 2. After they got chatting later, they realised they had not only the exact same name but also mutual friends and hobbies, and they do not live far away from each other.
Trowbridge bus driver Mark, 58, was checking in when staff told him he had already. After about 40 minutes they finally worked out there were in fact Mark Garlands on the flight - but the similarities didn't end there.
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They met in departures and looked remarkably similar, with an identical shaved head. And when Mark got to his seat on the plane he found out he had been allocated a seat right next to the 'other' Mark Garland.
Younger Mark spent 11-and-a-half-hours chatting to 'the other one' - 62-year-old builder Mark from Warmley. They discovered they live just 15 miles apart and builder Mark even sometimes gets on other Mark's bus.
The pair even have a friend in common - who drinks with Mark, 62, at his local pub. Both are single, and both have four kids, though younger Mark was never married, unlike older Mark who is now separated. They both also love Thailand - having visited more than a dozen times each.
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Mark, 58, said: "We were so shocked by how strange it was. We both kept laughing and smiling about it, it made me happy. I said 'you have caused me so much problems', and he said 'you have caused me so much problems'.
"I said, 'look I'm Mark Garland', showing him my passport, and he started laughing and opened his passport and showed me his name, and it was banter."
'Other' Mark, 62, added: "It was crazy - I have never known anything like it. They said there was another Mark Garland. They came to the bar, and asked to see my passport."
"I was thinking 'what is going on!' My name was coming out of the antenna, and my phone was going. I thought someone was winding me up.
"I go to the desk and there's a bloke who looks just like me, but he's a bit bigger than me. I'm better looking and older. He's like me, I've got a character and I love winding people up - we're the same."
"He's actually a nice bloke, I've got to say." The pair were both going on holiday to Thailand - younger Mark for four weeks, and older Mark for three weeks, when they discovered each other on March 2, on the EVA Air flight.
Younger Mark said the check-in clerk didn't cross-reference the booking number and checked the other one in his place, causing problems when he later arrived. He added: "I was stood at the check-in counter for 40 minutes whilst they tried to work out the problem.
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"We then had to go to the boarding gate early to identify our cases." It was there they met and "saw the funny side of it" - but then burst out laughing when they boarded the plane and were sat next to each other.
They realised that they lived very close to each other, and that they had crossed paths before. "I'm a bus driver, and Mark said he sometimes uses my bus," Mark said.
"I just found it astonishing that he was so near - up the road. One of my colleagues knows him and goes for drinks in the pub with him."
"It's crazy. What are the odds on that? I'm a bit taller but people have said we could be brothers."
As well as looking the same, having the same name and living near each other, both men discovered that they have a shared passion for Thailand. "We both love Thailand," said older Mark.
"I told him I'd been 13 times and he told me he'd been 83 times." By the end of the plane journey, the two Mark Garlands were solid friends and "I had a little nap on his shoulder" said bus driver Mark.
They have vowed to stay in contact and are due to meet up for a beer in Thailand on holiday. "I've made a friend for life," said older Mark.