Ananova:

A Polish sailor who came back from a fishing trip to find he'd been declared dead has failed to convince bureaucrats he's still alive.

Piotr Kucy, 37, said: "I stood there in front of them and said look, I'm alive, but they wouldn't accept it."

Kucy left his home in the port town of Swinoujscie for a two week fishing trip - but when he came back he found local authorities had declared him dead after wrongly identifying a body washed up-ashore.

He said since then local authorities have refused to recognise him as being still alive.

He said: "When I got back and my relatives saw me - they passed out. They had already buried me and there I was alive.

"Police found a body and then, when a friend said it looked like me, they quickly declared me dead. My family said they weren't even allowed to check the corpse properly. So I was dead and buried.

"But now I'm alive the authorities don't seem to want to do anything. I have contacted the prosecution in Swinoujscie asking them to bring me back. Five months have passed since then and nothing. No response. I have to work, insure myself, but I can't because I'm still dead!"