Sisters Shirley and Marlene Rutherford often leave people rubbing their eyes in confusion and wondering if they are seeing double.

For the identical twin sisters, now in their 70s, have dressed identically all their lives and still love to do so right down to their shoes. Shirley and Marlene share everything, including their home in Willerby, and have been affectionately nicknamed "double trouble" by their neighbours.

Shirley and Marlene have now opened up on their life as a double act. Speaking to BBC Look North, they said they were used to the stares and had no intention of giving up on their identical outfits anytime soon.

Read more: 'I fancied Killing Eve's Jodie Comer and realised I was a lesbian' - Hull mum

The twins are difficult to tell apart, even to those who have known them for decades. "I think if we'd have dressed different, we'd have looked at one another and thought, 'I wish I had that on'," Marleen said.

"Our mum made all our clothes," Shirley said, recalling their childhood days. "She made our bows in our hair, and we used to go to bed with rags in our hair to make it curly," Marleen added.

"I have never seen them not dressed the same," said friend and neighbour Janet Slater, who has known the sisters for more than 20 years. "Coats the same, scarves, hats, gloves, fleeces. Always the same, always in the same shoes."

The sisters are well-known in Willerby. Kerry Robinson, who works in the village Post Office, said she found it so different to tell them apart, sometimes she had to resort to just addressing them as 'ladies'.

"I can [tell them apart], one day, and then the next day I'm confused again," she added. "I'll think, 'that's Marlene' and then I'll say, 'oh no, is it Shirley?' And then I'll confuse myself so I just won't dare say anything."

It's estimated that twins occur in one in every 2050 births, although identical twins are more rare than non-identical. A recent report suggested that the birth rate for twins was increasing, with more twins born than ever in 2021.

According to the Human Reproduction medical journal, the number of twins born is now particularly high in Europe and North America. Worldwide, the figure has risen from nine twins for every 1,000 deliveries to 12. You can watch the full interview with Shirley and Marlene on the BBC website.

For Marlene and Shirley, being twins defines them. "They do say 'there goes the twins', and 'here comes double trouble'," they added, with one appropriately finishing the other's sentence.

READ NEXT:

The rest is here:
The twin sisters from Willerby still dressing identically in their 70s - Hull Live