A WOMAN who was contacted by her American brother through the pages of the Andover Advertiser has travelled to Tennessee to meet him for the first time.

When Lewis Cape made an appeal to find his long lost sister, born to a GI father and an And-over mother during the Second World War, Larraine Trembath, from Picket Twenty, came forward believing it was her – and DNA tests later proved the link.

Now, she and her brother have met up for the first time after Larraine flew to the United States and visited him.

She said: “It was amazing. When I got out of the car, it was cuddles all round, and I felt part of the family from that moment.”

She added: “They are so friendly and live in what I call hill-billy country – very beautiful and nothing like the picture of America you see on the television.

“I’m very much like Lewis as we are both very laid-back and enjoy collecting things. People thought we were twins.

“Our meeting up was all down to the Advertiser as if you hadn’t put it on the front page, we may not have seen Lewis’ appeal.

“It all seems too good to be true, but I’ll be going to see him again.”

And it wasn’t just a meeting between Larraine and Lewis last month but also Larraine’s sister Patricia, who travelled up from Florida.

Larraine, 70, was able to find out more about her American father James, who died in 1966.

Larraine said: “I did find out a lot about him and feel I’m more like my father than my mother, and I have found out where my joint problems come from.

“I have had a hip replacement but medical care in the poorer areas of America is expensive and although Obama has brought in insurance, many can’t afford it.

“When Lewis fell down the stairs six months ago, it was necessary to pay $500 to the ambulance before they would come out. I’ll never moan about the NHS again.”

Now Larraine is looking forward to strengthening her transatlantic links and is looking forward to welcoming Lewis’ eldest son to Andover, while she is planning another trip to the US.