A company director who changed his name by deed poll to Tuna Mayonnaise insists there is nothing fishy about his action this week.

Ben Johnson is making waves throughout the city by signing his letters simply 'Tuna' after paying a tenner to the The Legal Deed Service.

He says his 21-year-old brother Adam, a serving soldier, started the wacky moniker craze by changing his name to Dwayne Pipe after being egged on by his friends in barracks.

"I decided to join him and although I nearly chose the name Peregrine Falcon, I eventually settled on Tuna Mayonnaise - for no other reason than I had eaten it for lunch that day!" said Ben, who is 24.

Now the craze has spread, he said, and friends and colleagues are contemplating their own crazy titles.

"I was surprised at how easy it was to change my name by deed poll. It only cost £10," said Tuna, who is busy informing his clients at his Milton Keynes computer software company.

Meanwhile Dwayne, who is serving in Germany, has had to apply to have his official army name badges altered.

But the prankster pair, who have even changed their Facebook profiles to their new names, have yet to confess their name change to their mother.

"We haven't told mum yet but she will definitely find it funny. Our friends on the other hand all thought we were mental, until they too started considering changing their names," said Tuna.

Jamie Jackson, chief executive of The Legal Deed Service, said: "We are constantly getting crazy name change applications and we have a right laugh in the office when they come through.

"This is a unique case because two brothers have changed their names and sparked a craze among their friends in both the UK and Germany.

"I also think this is the first application where someone has favoured a sandwich filling as their new name!"

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