Dressed in traditional Thai costumes, these three-year-old Thai twins just look like any other smiling toddlers.

But the picture actually shows the youngsters being married after their parents ordered the ceremony, believing the children were lovers in a former life.

Brother and sister Teekatat and Tawisa Hiranmekawanit tied the knot in the traditional ceremony in Ang Thong province in central Thailand.

Their parents claim that the twins had been soul mates in a past life but were separated by a terrible tragedy.

They add that the children were reincarnated together as twins and to ward off 'bad luck' they have to shows the 'angels' that they are in love and want to be together forever.

The twins' mother Sasi claimed: 'They must get married otherwise one of them will die.'

'We provided the wedding ceremony according to our belief that in the olden days the boy and girl twins were soulmates but couldn't stay together.

'They were reborn again in this life, they were reborn as boy and girl twins.'

For the ceremony, the bride wore a traditional Thai wedding dress with a gold sarong and a gold sash.

The groom was dressed in a white shirt, gold pants and a green sash.

The boy even handed over a sinsod - a dowry payment made by men to the family of the bride - of 22,000 Thai baht (£450) and 30.5g of 23 carat gold.

Villagers and relatives joined the twins and their parents for the ceremony in the Wiset Chai Charn district of Ang Thong.

Their mother Sasi added: 'There was a very relaxed and nice atmosphere. The local community helped us.

'As parents we must provide the wedding to let the angels know that the twins are happily in love and will be together forever.

'It is an ancient belief to show the angels they are in love and will never stay apart.'

However, despite the formal ceremony, the children won't be married in law. They are also likely to find and marry their own partners when they get older.