Page 5 - IAV Digital Magazine #540

Dentures Lost In Spain
Returned To British
Man 11 years Later
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
By Ben Hooper
Feb. 11 (UPI) -- A British man who lost his dentures in a public recy- cling bin in Spain was stunned when his false teeth showed up in the mail 11 years later.
Paul Bishop, 63, of Stalybridge, England, said he was out celebrat- ing a friend's 50th birthday in Benidorm, Spain, 11 years ago when he had a bit too much to drink and found himself with the urgent need to vomit.
"As we were leav- ing, I noticed this big green bottle bin so sloshed it all out,"
Bishop told the Manchester Evening News.
Bishop said he didn't realize until arriving at the next bar that his top dentures were missing. He and his friends went back to search the bin, but had no success.
"We went back but there were hundreds of bot- tles in there," he recalled.
Bishop said he was shocked to receive a package this week from Spanish authori- ties. The package contained Bishop's missing dentures, along with a letter explaining that they had been in storage for "many years" before being sent for a DNA test to find their owner.
"I didn't know I was even on a DNA database but I did a voluntary swab years ago so it must have
been from that," Bishop told Sky News. "From there they have got in touch with the British embassy and found my address. I've changed address three times since that holiday. I'm amazed they've taken the time to find me and post them back."
Bishop said the false teeth no longer fit in his mouth, but he is considering put- ting them on dis- play at the Ridge Hill Lane Working Men's Club in Stalybridge, where he works as the general manager.
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine