A brother ended his half century search for his long lost sister with the words: "So what have you got to say for yourself?"

Derek Rigby, 55, was finally reunited with Marion Lander, 54, following an emotional appeal in the Telegraph & Argus.

The pair, pictured, were last together in 1951 when a three-year-old Marion clung in fear to Derek before they were separated by workers at a children's home.

Derek, now a grandfather, never gave up hope of meeting his younger sister again and turned to the T&A after hitting a series of dead ends in his attempt to track her down.

Through the T&A he received a tip-off from a reader which led him to eventually trace her phone number. Derek called her out of the blue and their 51-year separation finally came to an end at a tearful reunion at Oddfellows Hall Hotel in Idle.

The siblings were also able to introduce each other to seven other brothers and sisters who had lost touch with the other half of the family.

After the meeting Marion, 54, said: "There was always a part of my life missing and now that jigsaw has been filled. It's like getting my family back.

"I nearly fell off my chair when Derek called. Now we phone each other every day and are on for hours talking about old times.

"Seeing him for the first time I felt numb. I knew if I opened my mouth I would burst into tears. He was already crying!"

Derek said that now he has finally found his sister he would never let her go.

He said: "To finally see her before my eyes after all this time was unbelievable.

"I have spent a lifetime searching for Marion. I thought I would never find her but now we are together again we have got a lot of catching up to do."

Marion and Derek spent the first few years of their lives living with their parents at Redcar Road in Greengates before they were taken into care.

Marion grew up in a children's home before moving to West Bowling at the age of 17 with her sister Winnie Simmons.

She later moved to Petersfield in Hampshire.

Meanwhile, Derek found a new home with foster parents in Birmingham when he was just eight years old.

He now works as a plumber in Newport, South Wales.

Marion's daughter, Janice Leeming, said her mother had spent many years trying to trace Derek but had given up hope of them ever meeting again.

She said: "It is wonderful, they are so happy at finding each other again."