A woman who was given up for adoption while she was a child has tracked down her real mother after a time gap of 62 years.

After finding her mother, Annie Burriss also met her real 7 brothers and sisters about whom she had no knowledge.

Burriss, of Littlehampton, West Sussex, discovered that she had been adopted when she applied for a passport in 1973.

A nephew of hers helped her to trace her roots through genealogy websites.

“Mum touched my face and said, ‘You’re beautiful – I’m sorry,’” The Sun quoted Burriss, as saying.

“She suffers from short-term memory loss but she knew who I was straight away. She held my hand – it’s all I’ve ever wanted.

“It was quite overwhelming, I was so happy that I just wept. I’ve wanted to touch her for as long as I can remember,” she said.

Burriss was born after her mother Hilda Berry, now 91 years, had an affair while her husband was away at war, and was put up for adoption weeks later.

The reunion took place at a pub in Cheltenham.

Sister Trixie Foster, of Burriss said: “I could tell it was her as soon as she got out of the taxi. She looked so much like us.”

Mum-of-two Burris said: “The joy is that I’ve got all my brothers and sisters to get to know. It’s a fairytale. I’ve got two lovely families now – my children are delighted.”