A mother's life was turned upside down when her five-year-old son told her that he used to be a Hollywood actor and was reincarnated.

It all began when her son was four, and experienced vivid and haunting nightmares.

It was not until one year later however, when Ryan Hammons was five, that he shared his secret.

Speaking to US programme Today, mum Cyndi, from Muskogee, Oklahoma, said: "He said mom, I have something I need to tell you - I used to be somebody else."

But it became clear to her that this was not just a child's imagination running away with itself, due to the shocking level of detail he would recall from his past life.

He told his mother of his previous experiences - travelling the world, working with stars like Rita Hayworth, and dancing on Broadway.

She added: "His stories were so detailed and they were so extensive, that it just wasn’t like a child could have made it up."

Cyndi, who was raised as a Christian in a Baptist church, was not taught to believe in reincarnation.

However her son's incredible revelations left her feeling the need to research his claims - and then is when it began to feel real.

"We found the picture, and it changed everything,” she said.

The photo was found in a library in a Hollywood memorial book, showing a shot from a 1932 film called Night After Night.

Ryan said: "She turns to the page in the book, and I say ‘that’s me, that’s who I was.'"

The actor was an extra in the film, with no lines.

As the details of Ryan's claim became more specific, Cyndi sought out help from Dr Jim Tucker, a professor of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences at the University of Virginia.

Speaking of Ryan's case, he said: "These cases demand an explanation.

"We can’t just write them off or explain them away as just some sort of normal cultural thing."

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/mum-used-somebody-else-five-year-old-5344679