Tameside man reunited with false teeth 11 years after losing them in Benidorm
Paul Bishop from Stalybridge parted ways with his teeth more than a decade ago after throwing up in a bin in the Spanish holiday resort
Last updated 10th Feb 2022
A man from Tameside has been reunited with his false teeth more than a decade after losing them.
Paul Bishop, from Stalybridge, had been on a night out in the Spanish holiday resort of Benidorm in 2011 when he vomited into a bin.
It wasn't until he arrived at the next bar he realised he had lost them.
Despite his best efforts to find them, the bin had been emptied.
Speaking to us, Paul said: "I went to the next bar, thought nothing of it.
"Get to the bar and started speaking to someone and they said, 'where's your teeth!?'
"So I twirled my tongue round and I said 'oh noooo'
"We all went back to the bin to look for the teeth, but it was late at night and the bin was full so we went three more pints and come back and see the bin men had emptied the bin.
"They were never to be seen again."
At least that's what Paul thought. 11 years later the Elvis impersonator had quite the shock when he received a letter from Spanish authorities in Alicante saying his teeth had been located in landfill.
They told Paul they had been found in recycling and then kept in storage for "many years".
During that time a junior technician at a laboratory, who is studying DNA, had been practising on the item which allowed him to track Paul down.
The authorities said they took great pleasure in finally being able to return the teeth after 11, and told Paul to "be more careful" if he ever returns to Spain.