IF bar owner Bob Mirfin was surprised to stumble across another Sheffielder in the middle of the Mexican desert he was positively shocked when that Tyke turned out to be Hollywood star Sean Bean - covered in blood and gore.
Rock fan Bob, who runs The Casbah in the city centre, travelled several thousand miles to get him and his family away from it all. So the last thing he was expecting was to bump into a major film star looking as though he'd just been in fight.
But t
oday the Whirlow-based businessman revealed he, wife Dawn and their children Karla and Blaine had actually stumbled by chance into one of the world's most expensive film sets.
"I saw Sean Bean in the distance and he looked as though he'd been in a right punch up – he was covered in blood," recalled Bob.
It was only when the Mirfin family spotted a sign for the set of the soon-to-be-released epic £145 million Troy and when movie security personnel stopped him taking pictures of Bean in action that things started to fall into place.
"We were staying in the nearby resort of Cabo San Lucas and decided to spend the afternoon sight-seeing in the desert.
"We were wandering around in an area that, according to the map, should be nothing but desert when we suddenly stumbled on this amazing hive of activity and our very own Sean Bean in the distance.
"I was determined to get a snap but the security stopped me as they didn't want to give the plot away and only allowed official photographers."
The majority of Troy was filmed in Malta, location for Gladiator, but the crew have been spending months in Mexico's Los Cabos desert completing final battle scenes.
Filming had fallen behind schedule due to hurricanes and it is thought the Mirfin family caught one of the last days of action on their holiday a few weeks ago.
Brad Pitt takes the starring role as warrior Achilles while Blades-mad Bean plays Odysseus, one of the most prominent Greek leaders in the Trojan War.
