But it was not enough to stop Tony Nish from recognising an old photograph of his friend in last week's Knutsford Guardian.

He called Bob on Thursday morning with the news: 'You and your daughters have got a full-page spread in the local paper.'

"I thought he was pulling my leg, but then I bought the paper and there I was," said Bob.

"But I am surprised he recognised me from 20 years ago."

The phone call followed an appeal in last week's Knutsford Guardian to find the owner of a collection of 1970s' and 1980s' photographs that had been sold inadvertedly at Marshall's salesrooms in Knutsford.

The Knutsford Guardian assumed - from the photographs - that the mystery woman was a keen photographer.

In fact, the mystery woman was two separate people - two sisters, Beverley and Lynn, with a father who loved photography.

"I have taken a lot of photos in my time of anything and everything," said Bob as he flicked through the pile of old pictures in the Guardian office last week.

His daughter, Beverley, now 39, is a metalogist, which explains the 'Heavy Metal' tribute on her birthday cake.

Daughter Lynn, now 45, is an optician and was pictured with her beloved cavalier spaniels Jasper and Sparky - that we had mistaken for the same dog.

"When I told them they were in the paper they were doubled up laughing," said Bob.

On Friday, 71-year-old Bob, who now lives in Alderley Edge, told how the photographs had ended up at Marshall's salerooms.

"I had been really ruthless in getting rid of all these old tea-chests," he said.

"I didn't really know what was in a lot of them and had so much stuff I had nowhere to keep it.

"I suppose I shouldn't really have thrown a lot of it out in the first place."