A man has learned he has a brother and four sisters after believing he was an only child for nearly 60 years.

David Smith, 59, of Melksham, who was fostered as a baby when his family split up during the Second World War, met his brother Albert for the first time at the beginning of November, and last week joined him in London to meet his sister Joyce.

Mr Smith always felt he had a brother but the sisters came as a complete surprise.

He said: "I had five sisters but unfortunately one of them died. I hope to meet the rest of my family early next year.

"I've always had an empty space in my heart, as I've never known my true identity or background."

The family was living in London, but during the war the children were split up and evacuated. Mr Smith was only eight weeks old, so never had any memories of his siblings.

He was taken to a children's home in Middlesex and lived with several different foster parents around the country before meeting his wife Ann in Staverton in 1964, aged 21.

They were married in 1966 and lived in Broughton Gifford for 30 years, moving to Melksham five years ago.

Mr Smith retired and decided to search for his brother last December. He wrote to the Salvation Army after reading how they had successfully helped reunite other families.

"They rang back and said they would try to help but it would be difficult as my surname was Smith. They found my brother's army records and six to eight weeks ago I received a letter from Albert," he said.

"I rang him and we clicked straight away. Although we couldn't reminisce about the past we had a lot of catching up to do."

Albert and his wife Biela live near Middlesborough, and they recently made the journey to Wiltshire for a weekend-long chinwag.

The BBC heard about the story and David, Albert and Joyce appeared on its Breakfast programme last week.

"My wife and I appeared on Wednesday and put out an appeal for the rest of my family. When we got home we found that my sister had made contact 20 minutes after the appeal," said Mr Smith.

"We were driven back to London on Thursday and Albert was flown down. It was amazing when she walked through the door I was lost for words."

As well as his two siblings, Mr Smith met their families, and is hoping to meet his other three sisters.

"She has kept in contact with them, and we are all looking forward to catching up," he explained.

Mr Smith's parents' names are on his birth certificate, but his father disappeared after the war and his mother suffered from a mental illness, so never searched for all her children.

He said: "I'm glad I have so much in common with my brother, we share the same hobbies and we both have a son called Pete. We may not have all grown up together, but we can grow old together."