A heartbroken husband pining for his dead wife dug up her corpse and slept beside it for 5 years

Le Van said he opened the grave because he wanted to HUG her.

The 55-year-old, from a small town in the central province of Quang Nam, Vietnam, moulded clay around the remains to give the figure of a woman.

He then put clothes on her and placed her in his bed.

Van came up with the idea after his children stopped him from digging a tunnel into the grave.

After his wife died in 2003 he slept on top of her burial plot for 20 months.

But worried about rain, wind and cold, he eventually decided to dig the underground passage "to sleep with her".

His kids found out and prevented him from going to the grave.

So one night in November 2004 he dug up his wife's remains and took them home.

The father of seven said neighbours did not dare visit the house for several years.

He said: "I'm a person that does things differently. I'm not like normal people."

Cut and paste story as reported by The Sun (UK) 27/11/09.