Ref:75794-31A WEBSITE has helped end a Swindon woman's agonising seven-year search for the family she never knew she had and they only live 20 miles away.

Not knowing what her mum and dad looked like or whether she had any brothers or sisters was soul destroying for 23-year-old Kate Hookings.

But thanks to the website Lookup UK, which helps find lost friends, relatives and missing people, the former Kingsdown School pupil has met her mum, Karen Lissenden, 40, who lived just a short distance away in Hill Rise, Chippenham.

She has also seen her five brothers and sisters, Shannon, nine, Nicky, 11, Sammy, 16, Gemma, 18, and Maria, 21, for the first time but has yet to meet her 14-year-old-brother Brian.

"When I got a telephone number and house number for her I was stunned as I couldn't believe they still lived so close," said Miss Hookings, of Westbury Road, Penhill.

"I didn't know what she would say but when I phoned she had the kind of voice you could talk to forever.

"She invited me to the pub that evening and when I walked in and saw her it just felt right. When I heard about the rest of the family it was a dream come true."

Because she was only 16 when she fell pregnant Mrs Lissenden put her daughter up for adoption shortly after she was born.

Her surname was changed from Beavers when she moved in with Jenny and Martin Hookings which meant her mum could never trace her.

When she was eight they told her that she was adopted and aged 16 she began the search for her real parents.

Miss Hookings' desperate attempts to find them through social services failed until she sent an email to Lookup UK who called her on Saturday evening saying her mum had been found. She arranged the reunion the following day.

She is still looking for her dad, Hudson Nyabinda, who she believes moved back to Nigeria.

"I used to look round places where they used to live like Malmesbury and Hullavington but I got nowhere," said Miss Hookings.

"I just wanted to know that I looked like someone it's something you normally take for granted."

She is now busy catching up with her new family by going through old photo albums.

"We've got a lot of catching up to do. I've always wanted a big family even if Christmas is going to be more expensive from now on."

Proud Mrs Lissenden, a labourer, said she was delighted to see her oldest child again.

"I was always hoping I would see her again and I knew the day would come," she said.

"I was in complete shock when she walked through the door. Not a day has gone by when I haven't thought of her. All her birthdays have been especially hard but now we will always stay in touch."

Look Up's website is www.lookupuk.com

Ben Payne