Newspaper staff from the Press and Journal in Aberdeen got a shock when they were sent to cover a local exhibition - and came face to face with their future selves.

Reporter David McKay and photographer Raymond Besant visited the British Geriatrics Society spring meeting in Aberdeen where, thanks to the wonders of technology, they were given a snapshot of how they might look in 40 years.

The pair volunteered to be guinea pigs for Bristol-based MedIT's 'time machine' computer programme, originally designed to catch criminals, which generated images of what the future might hold for David and Raymond.

David admitted the results were a scary prospect.

He said: "At the age of 26, I tend not to think very far ahead, and have rarely considered how I might look when the time comes to collect my pension.

"But if the computer-generated image is to be believed, then my future self looks not unlike ageing Rolling Stone Bill Wyman."

However Raymond, (27), quite liked his finished picture.

He said: "I didn't think I came out of it too badly. I think they have been a bit generous with the hair though.

"I thought I looked like my dad initially but now I'm not so sure. The assistant editor thought I looked like Arthur Fowler which was a bit harsh."

To show how David and Raymond might look in the future, their photographs were taken using a digital camera and then a grid was placed over them to work out the shape of their faces.

The faces were then altered to show how they might change over time, with sagging cheeks and receding hairlines, before being compared to thousands of other images on the database to try and build up a picture.

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