Best friends break down in tears as they find out they were switched at birth

Two best friends were switched at birth and raised by each other's family.

David Tait and Leon Swanson, both 41, broke down in tears as they were told the news at a press conference.

David said he "wanted answers" after learning that he and his pal had been swapped at Norway House Hospital in 1975 in the western Canadian province of Manitoba. 

DNA testing confirmed that the two men, who live in the same small town of 5,000 people mostly indigenous from the Cree Nation, had been mixed up.

Mr Tait said he felt "distraught, confused and angry" upon hearing the news.

"I want answers so bad. It's going to affect us one way or the other, I know that. It's going to be a long journey," he added.

He went on to say that the people who raised him "would always be mom and dad, regardless" but he now he had "another brother, another mom and dad".

In November, the Manitoba government said two other men who were close friends were also switched at birth in 1975, at the same Norway House Hospital.

Luke Monias and Norman Barkman's case prompted Mr Tait and Mr Swanson to have their DNA tested.

Eric Robinson, a former Manitoba cabinet minister who is helping the men said: "The federal government owes these people

"What happened to them is criminal.

"We can live with one mistake, but two mistakes of a similar nature is not acceptable.

"We can't slough it off as being a mistake. It was a criminal act.

"It's something (the government) can't sweep under the carpet. There are lingering questions out there.

UK Mirror