A bride-to-be from Newcastle is trying to track down a mystery man after finding a set of face masks bearing his image during her hen do in Liverpool. Lauren Andrews, 35, was celebrating her upcoming wedding over Halloween weekend when her group discovered an Amazon envelope left on a table at McCooley's on Mathew Street, containing six masks featuring the face of a stranger.
After their original plans to visit Dublin were disrupted by cancelled flights, Lauren and her friends decided to embrace the unusual find, naming the unknown man 'Neil' and taking the masks out for the night.
How the masks became a night out highlight
Lauren told the ECHO: "I've never been to Liverpool before, so that was an experience in itself. Everyone is just so friendly and chatty, it was great." She added: "We were quite intoxicated when we found the masks, so we got them out and started having a laugh and a joke. We were just coming up with ridiculous names. One of our group said he looked like a Neil, so that's just stuck."
The fun spread as other revellers joined in. Lauren said: "Other people started to get involved. We had people coming up to us, putting the masks on and taking selfies. Two guys from Finland came over and one of them loved the mask so much he took it home to Finland with him."
From the Cavern Club to a wedding plan
The celebrations continued at the Cavern Club, where the story of the mystery companion quickly spread. Lauren said: "We told the story to everyone in there and then Neil was just passed around to everyone in the pub. We have so many selfies of people getting involved. At one point, even the band had the masks on for a couple of songs. It was just so funny. It brought so much laughter and joy to everyone who was involved. The way the world is at the minute, people need a bit of light-hearted fun."
Even the group's taxi driver got involved, putting on one of the masks during the journey home. Lauren, who is due to get married in December, has decided to bring the masks to her wedding so that 'Neil' can play a part in the celebrations.
The search for Neil continues
The mystery has since taken on a life of its own, with photographs of Neil being shared across numerous Facebook groups as people join the search to uncover his identity. Despite the growing interest, Lauren and her friends are still no closer to finding him.
She said: "There's so many people invested in finding out who this person is. But we're so stuck; we've had no leads at all, which is bizarre because it's been shared so many times. This man, whoever he may be, has had a great night out and is totally unaware of it. I just hope we can find him."
