I DIDN’T KNOW I WAS DEAD!

But news of the premature demise of Peter Baird came as a massive shock - not least to the Rasharkin man himself!

The morbid letter dropped through the 34-year-old’s door on Saturday morning.

Bizarrely, despite referring to his apparent death, the letter was addressed to Peter.

It reads: “Creation Consumer Finance regrets to learn of the death of Mr Peter Baird.

“Please accept our condolences at this time.”

The letter asked for Peter’s death certificate to be forwarded onto them and invited him to contact the company with any questions he may have within the next 28 days.

Fitness mad Peter - who runs NI Supplements in Ballymoney - said he was a bit spooked by the mail.

“I got the letter on Saturday and from the envelope I thought it was just generic post and took it to work with me,” he told the Times.

“I couldn’t believe it when I opened it up and read it.

“It’s a bit eerie to read a letter about your own death.

“My first reaction was that someone had maybe stolen my identity to set up a credit card or that but when I checked it out the company said it was just a clerical error and they had my details from a car insurance policy.”

He said the company apologised to him for the mishap.

Peter put a picture of the letter on Facebook and it drew a lot of ribbing from his pals.

Chris McIlmoyle wrote: “Sorry to hear this bad news. The Taverners (Peter’s current football club) will wear black armbands next season!”

Billy Steele posted: “LOL! You sure you’re not dead? Ever seen the film with Bruce Willis, the Sixth Sense I think you call it, where it turns out he was dead all along! You should check again mate.”

Damien McGregor said: “Aye it’s all clicking into place - I thought you looked a tad pale that night in Mullaghans! lol.”

A spokesperson for Creation Consumer Finance, which is based in Solihull in England, told the Times: “We’re very sorry to hear of the letter that was sent to Mr Baird as a result of human error.

“We strive to provide the highest levels of customer service and treat matters such as this seriously. “As such, we are undertaking a full investigation into how this isolated incident happened and will be reviewing our processes to ensure this is not repeated.

“We will be responding to Mr Baird directly to apologise and we can confirm that no data regarding this has been reported.”