Divided loyalties for Christmas twins' taste in footy as they support Wolves and Aston Villa
Telling identical twins Tom and Max Donnelly apart can be tough for all but their nearest and dearest.
But for all their similarities the football-mad twins, who celebrated their fifth birthdays on Christmas Eve, are divided in one important area – the team they support.
Their divided loyalties meant the twins' parents Karl and Kate had to buy different replica kits this Christmas – a Wolves strip for Tom and a Villa one for Max – while they had a half-and-half cake designed for their birthday.
Tom and Max's club choices mirror their parents' own division, with Brummie Karl a Villa fan and 31-year-old nurse Kate coming from Wolves stock.
And the twins' older brother Jack, seven, has nailed his flag to the Villa mast like his father. Mr Donnelly, aged 33, a firefighter in Dudley, said: "It just happened really – one sided with me and the Villa then the other one has gone over to the dark side.
"Then when it came to Christmas one of them asked for the Wolves home and away kits and the other asked for home and away kits for Villa.
"Now their mum is having to take Tom to a Wolves match in the new year with her dad and I'll take Max to Villa with my dad who's also a Villa fan.
Tom and Max featured in the Express & Star back in 2011 when they were born on Christmas Eve.
Mr Donnelly, who lives in Gornal, added: "We've actually got four sets of twins in the family and Tom and Max have nine-week-old twin cousins – Zachary and Harry.
"On their birthday we got lovely photos of the twins each holding one of their cousins.
Karl added: "Tom, the Wolves fan, loved his Christmas present of his strip and scarf so much that he wore it all day yesterday (Christmas Day) and today.
"I'm going to try and get Tom to change to the better side when he's a bit older, but I think he likes the attention when he's out with his brother and they get asked who they support."
