“I CAN’T believe I’ve found you”.

That was the moving reaction from Tony Macnauton and his daughter Frances Simpson as they were reunited after 48 years apart.

The pair, who spoke on the telephone for the first time on Saturday January 16, found each other after Frances got in touch with her half sister Kim, 19, on social networking site Facebook.

And delighted Tony, 72, of Lincoln Road, Parkstone, discovered that as well as a daughter, he also has five grandchildren and a great-grandchild.

Tony, a former lorry driver, lost touch with his daughter after his relationship with her mother ended.

The story started when a friend of Frances’ researched her family tree as a surprise and told her she had found Frances’ father.

Frances, 51, of Market Drayton, Shropshire also discovered she had a half sister Kim.

Plucking up courage Frances sent Kim a message on Facebook saying, “This is going to be a bit of a shock if you are who I think you are, but I think I might be your sister”.

She was shocked to get a reply within minutes confirming that she was right.

Kim told Frances: “Do you want to talk to my dad. He’s sitting right next to me”.

The pair were soon chatting away as if they had never been apart.

Keen amateur photographer Tony said: “I couldn’t believe my luck that I’d found my daughter. There were no awkward silences. Frances has never been out of my mind. Kim knew right from being a baby that she had an elder sister.”

Ex-wife Tess with whom he remains good friends, her husband Steve and Kim arranged a surprise meeting between Tony and Frances in a pub last Friday.

Despite being just three when she last saw Tony, Frances says she has lots of memories.

“I remember him being able to play the accordion and I remember him making me a swing. I used to love playing with chalk so he painted a whole wall black for me. He can remember me being really excited because he’d made me the biggest chalkboard in the world,” she said.

And Tony travelled up to Shropshire yesterday with his two daughters to meet the grandchildren and great-grandchild he never knew he had.

Tony added: “It’s absolutely marvellous. I don’t know what cloud I’m on at the moment. That Saturday night was the best one of my life.”