Cremated Man Turns up on TV

A man has been reunited with his father after spotting him on television - five years after he thought he was cremated.

John Renehan's father John Delaney went missing in 2000 and when a decomposed body matching his description was found in 2003 he was identified by a coroner.

But it has emerged that Mr Delaney, of Oldham, had actually been put in a care home after being found wandering around the town with memory loss.

Police admit "mistakes were made" in the identification process.

When Mr Delaney was found in 2000 in a confused state in Copster Hill Road he was unable to give any clues about his identity.

He was given the name "David Harrison" and placed in the care home where he stayed for eight years.

His family reported him as missing but appeals failed to uncover information about his whereabouts.

The body of a man, which had similar clothes and historic wounds to Mr Delaney, was found in the grounds of Manchester Royal Infirmary in January 2003.

It was identified as Mr Delaney and a funeral was held.

More than five years after the cremation service, Mr Renehan, from Didsbury, saw a television appeal about finding the family of the man in the care home, who he recognised as his father.

He contacted the authorities and DNA tests confirmed their relationship.

In a statement, Greater Manchester Police said the identification mix-up was a matter for the coroner, who is no longer in the post.

But a spokesperson said: "Greater Manchester Police accepts that mistakes were made and that Mr Delaney's family has been through a traumatic ordeal."

It said that inquiries in 2003 to establish the unknown man's identity were "not sufficient".

"At that time, only paper records of people reported missing from home existed," the spokesperson added.

"Today, Greater Manchester Police has advanced systems in place to ensure that mistakes of this nature are not made and robust checks are made to establish the identity of people who cannot immediately confirm who they are."

The spokesperson said the officer who dealt with the case in 2000 had since retired from the force.

An investigation is under way to try to establish the identity of the man cremated in 2003.