A MUM is "100 per cent convinced" the David Schwimmer lookalike being hunted by cops is her son who vanished 11 years ago.

Susan Trowbridge was stunned when she saw an appeal made by Blackpool Police looking for information on a robber who is a dead ringer for the Friends star.

The appeal went viral after Facebook users noticed the man had an uncanny resemblance to Ross Geller - with Schwimmer creating an amazing spoof video re-enacting the CCTV footage.

And Susan, 58, is convinced the suspected robber is her adopted son Paul Trowbridge, who vanished without a trace on July 1, 2007.

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She has contacted Blackpool Police and even though they have told her the thief wasn't Paul, she is still positive she has found the missing 36-year-old.

Susan, from Swindon, told Sun Online: "Someone sent the appeal to my daughter saying he looked like Paul and she showed it to me.

"I emailed police and told them I was his mum but they came back and said the man in the CCTV isn't Paul.

"I just don't know how they can be so sure - they haven't arrested anyone or named a suspect so they can't know for definite.

"I'm his mum - call it's mother's instinct or whatever you want but I'm 100 per cent convinced it's him.

"It's his eyes and the way his hair falls, I can just tell. It's the first picture of him I've seen in 11 years and it's amazing."

Cops tonight confirmed they had identified the suspected thief - but would not reveal his name.

A police spokesman said: "Could we BE any more overwhelmed with the response to our CCTV appeal after a theft at a restaurant in Blackpool?

"Most importantly, we're now satisfied we've identified the man in the still & our enquiries are very much continuing.

"Huge thanks for sharing it with your Friends."

Susan, who has three children and five foster children, took Paul, who suffered from schizophrenia, into her family when he was nine years old.

Two weeks before he disappeared, Susan had been helping him pack for a holiday in Barbados before waving him off to the airport.

But the hairdresser and beauty therapist never saw her son again and tragically believes he may have been used as a mule after falling in with a crowd involved with drugs.

Susan said: "I'd gone round to his house when he got back and he wasn't there. He just vanished without a trace.

"Having someone you love go missing is absolutely horrendous.

"I got used to him not coming back and then all of a sudden yesterday I got these messages about him and it brings it up again.

"We are his family and it just seems possible it could be him.

"I don't care if he is a rogue, I just want to know he is alive. I don't even care if he doesn't want to see us just as long as he isn't dead."

In the CCTV appeal, the double of Ross was seen clutching a crate of beer beers as he stared down a security camera.

Many made jokes about the robber's sitcom lookalike - with Blackpool cops even saying: "We have investigated this matter thoroughly and have confirmed that David Schwimmer was in America on this date.

"We're so sorry it has to be this way".

The actor himself also made fun of the attention - posting a hilarious spoof video of the CCTV.

He wrote alongside it: "Officers, I swear it wasn't me. As you can see, I was in New York.

"To the hardworking Blackpool Police, good luck with the investigation."

And Susan has revealed how her son also bore a resemblance to the actor as a teenager - with many friends and family comparing Paul to Ross.

She has now vowed not to give up searching for Paul and said she will "keep going back to the police" until she is convinced the thief isn't her son.

Directly reaching out to Paul, she added: "Just let us know you are alive. We love you."