A WOMAN tracked down her long-lost brother after she found his name on an electoral roll disc that she bought at a car boot sale.

Linda Bevan, 46, of Warblington Close, Tadley, always knew that she had a half-brother from her father's previous marriage but had never met or spoken to him.

After the death of her father six years ago, Mrs Bevan decided to try to find her half-brother, although all she knew about him was his name.

She bought the disc of the electoral roll for £1 at a Bramley car boot sale last October. She then searched the database for Owen Cullimore and found an entry for a man who lived in Southampton.

"I just bought the disc on a whim really. I didn't expect to find an entry matching his name," said Mrs Bevan.

After making the find, she wrote to Mr Cullimore and eagerly waited for a reply.

"I had a letter from his wife explaining that they were about to go on a long holiday but that they would be in touch when they got back. I was over the moon," said Mrs Bevan.

Three weeks later, when Mr Cullimore and his wife Jill returned, they wrote again to Mrs Bevan.

They then exchanged several letters before Mrs Bevan phoned her half-brother and spoke to him for the first time.

"We got on really well," she said. "It was wonderful just to hear his voice. We have got the same sense of humour and just clicked straight away."

Mr Cullimore, 59, now visits Mrs Bevan in Tadley every week. The pair have also documented their reunion by writing poetry about their experiences of meeting each other after 46 years.

Fifty copies of their collection of poetry, Brother and Sister, have been published by Forward Press.

Mr Cullimore said: "Linda has been a ray of sunshine in my life since we met and has encouraged me to write poetry to express my feelings. It has been wonderful."

Mrs Bevan also discovered that Mr Cullimore had been near her for many years, as he lived in Ramsdell for most of his life before moving to Southampton about 14 years ago.

"It was really strange to find out that we were so close for so long and didn't even realise," she said.