IT'S just as well Ray Farmer isn't particularly superstitious. Why? Because on Tuesday the jovial grandfather celebrated his sixty-sixth birthday on the sixth of the sixth '06!

However, he did concede that sharing such an ominous milestone with the high-profile re-release of the legendary horror film 'The Omen' wasn't a good sign!

Ray joked: "Although I don't really believe in the supernatural, it was funny to see some of my friends and family getting worked up about it."

Refusing to be spooked by his red-letter day, Ray, a retired motorway maintenance man, revelled in the added attention.

But he was eager not to tempt fate when celebrating the occasion in his native Rainhill with wife Pam, daughters Joanna and Rachel and his five grandchildren.

His daughter Joanna commented: "My dad is not really a bad omen at all. He's just like everyone else - he enjoys a holiday likes swimming and loves a drink!"