WHEN two men at the British Embassy in Bahrain discovered they shared the same name and were born on the same day in the same hospital ward in Burnley they were unsurprisingly shocked.

But when Gary Fisher and Gary Loftus found a shared a passion for their beloved Burnley Football Club they quickly became friends.

Gary Fisher, 33, joined the British Diplomatic Service after leaving sixth form college. He is now Consul at the British Embassy in Bahrain.

He said: "I was born in Burnley, but my family moved to Shropshire when I was young. I only met Gary about two months ago. He's part of the Embassy's defence section and was called out to help during the conflict in Iraq.

"It was only a couple of weeks after Gary arrived we noticed the coincidence that we were born on the same day in the Edith Watson Memorial Ward at Burnley General Hospital. It's caused great amusement in the Embassy. People say to us that half of Burnley Football Club's support is in Bahrain."

Then Foreign Secretary Jack Straw MP, a committed Blackburn Rovers fan, made a diplomatic visit to Bahrain.

Mr Straw was taken aback when he discovered the two men had the same name, birthday, were born in the same hospital ward and shared a passion for Burnley FC.

Meeting two of Stan Ternent's Claret and Blue Army during a tour of the Middle East was the last thing Mr Straw expected. Writing in his Lancashire Evening Telegraph column Mr Straw said: "I thought it was a wind-up. But no, they were both from Burnley and they did both support that team."

Corporal Gary Loftus has spent 16 years with the Royal Air Force. His father David and brother David Junior still live in the area.

He said: "I couldn't believe it. It was bizarre. It's always good to meet someone from Burnley, but to have the same name and be born on the same day, December 27, 1969, in the same hospital ward is spooky."

The two quickly moved on to the subject of football. Gary Fisher added: "I have a pennant and a team photograph in my office. When Gary saw it we started talking about Burnley.

"It was the first thing I talked about with Jack Straw. We told him he was outnumbered and I then told him about our story. He gave us a bit of stick, but we gave some back. Mr Straw and his entourage were amazed by the story."

The former St Theodore's RC High School pupil still returns to Burnley and always looks forward to watching a game at Turf Moor and catching up with old friends.

"We've just got to look forward to next season, hopefully things will move on a bit."