A CHANCE meeting in a cemetery has led to a family being reunited after 45 years apart.

When Cathy Moore was given up for adoption at just two days old following the death of her mother, Kathleen Turner, from cancer, she lost touch with her family.

It was only when her adoptive parents died that Cathy decided to search for her six brothers and sisters.

But all she had to go on was a copy of her mother's death certificate. "I phoned Evesham Town Council and they gave me the plot number at Hampton Church, where mum is buried," said the 43-year-old.

"A week last Sunday I went there only to find it was an unmarked grave.

"I looked everywhere and was on the point of giving up hope when I approached a man to see if he recognised my mum's name - and he turned out to be one of my cousins. I nearly fainted on the spot.

"I went home with him and he tried to contact some of my brothers, but they weren't in. I went back home and decided to call my cousin again to see if it would be a good idea to make contact. One of my siblings then phoned me and we were in tears."

What Cathy didn't know, was that her brothers and sisters had also tried to find her.

Following the death of their mother, her sister Sally Freeman had gone to live with her grandparents while her five elder siblings - Michael, John, Andrew, Leslie and Gillian - went to live with their dad. They were all living in Worcester and Evesham and had stayed in touch.

Sally, of Grasmere Drive, Warndon, Worcester, said: "One of my brothers tried years ago to find her, but just drew a blank. The years went into one another but we always thought about her and I have always wanted to meet her."

Following that fateful day in the cemetery, the sisters finally met at Cathy's home in Chelmsley Wood, Birmingham, on Tuesday last week

Sally, a fresh food manager at Tesco's in St Peter's, said: "Cathy shouted from her window, ran out of the house and we flung our arms around each other. There were a lot of tears and it was a wonderful day."

Since then, Cathy has been in regular touch with all her brothers and sisters and all seven met up for the first time on Saturday.

She said: "It is the best thing that has happened to me and I cannot believe how easy it was to find them. They are all absolutely lovely people.

"I've spent hours on the phone to all of them and can't wait until we all meet up again. One of my brothers has also written such a lovely letter, I cannot stop reading it.

"One of my sisters has put together a family album too, and I even have a photo of myself as a baby, which I have never had before.

"I have always wanted to contact my family but did not do so while my adoptive parents were alive out of respect for them. Now I know them all, I am determined not to lose them again."

John Turner, aged 56, is the second eldest in the family. He lives in Rynal Place, Evesham, and was equally delighted with meeting his sister after trying for years to find her.

He said: "I couldn't get over how much Cathy is like her sisters. She has their mannerisms and they all look so much alike. It has been a dream come true for all of us."