Two half-sisters who were unaware of each other’s existence met for the first time – when they both applied for jobs at KFC.
Sherrie Smith, 21, and Laura Woodhouse, 17, had not been told about each other until Laura’s mum admitted her daughter had another sibling two years ago.
Although Sherrie was kept in the dark, Laura contacted her older sister on Facebook and they exchanged a few messages but never met in person.
Over a year later, they were stunned when they bumped into each other after applying for jobs at the Amblecote KFC restaurant in Stourbridge, West Mids.
The two siblings were both taken on as full-time staff and even work alongside each other after being given the same shifts.
Laura said: “At first I was quite angry as my dad had never told me about Sherrie.
“But when we first met we clicked straight away.
“We’re both really happy that this KFC store has brought us together and it will keep us together too.
“When I was watching Sherrie at the KFC group interview it filled me with pride seeing how confident she was.
“We told some of the other candidates at the group interview and they even said that we look alike.
“It feels absolutely amazing to finally have an older sister – we’ve already been out for a nice meal in Stourbridge.”
Sherrie said: “I did wonder whether I had any brothers or sisters, there was always that thought.
“But as soon as I found out about Laura it was like a whole new life had opened up.
“We got in touch on Facebook but never met. I think we were both a bit scared but we were building up for it.
“Suddenly we both found out we’d applied for a job at KFC and it was like fate had finally brought us together.
“When I saw her at the assessment centre I thought, ‘what do I say? What do I ask her?’
“When I finally saw her get out of the car, we were both in floods of tears.
“It was so overwhelming seeing her.
“We get on really well. It’s just a shame that we didn’t get to grow up together.
“Our interviews went really well and it’s great that we now work next to each other.
“Working together will be a really good chance for us to get to know each other more and catch up on lost time.”