An estranged father and son were re-united 37 years after being separated when they recognised each other’s facial features on Facebook.
Andy Spiers-Corbett, 39, was two-years-old when he lost contact with his dad Graham Corbett, 61, after a divorce.
The pair tried to track each other down using family trees and even resorted to private detectives but without success.
But incredibly when Andy typed his dad’s name into Facebook two weeks ago he immediately recognised a man with eyes and a nose identical to his own.
Father-of-one Andy, from Hinckley, Leics., said: ”There were about 15 Graham Corbetts that came up but I saw this picture and my heart just started pounding.
”I knew it was him. It was like looking at a picture of me when I’m older. We have exactly the same nose and eyes as each other.
”I just sent a message and a day or two later got one back saying, ‘Hello son’. I couldn’t believe it. The internet is amazing.”
Incredibly, Graham had re-married and had three children with his new partner and lived just 17 miles away from his son in Evington, Leics.
The pair had an emotional reunion several days after making contact.
Retired civil servant Graham said: ”When me and his mum split up, I was in the British Military Police.
”I would only see him when I was on leave and one time I took him back to his mum’s and he just wouldn’t stop crying. It broke my heart and upset him so much. I decided I couldn’t see him anymore.
”It was one of the worst decisions I ever made.
”A few years after I started trying to track him down but every time I seemed to get near, they’d moved on.
”But then he popped up on Facebook. I had tried on it before, but I had been using the surname Corbett, not Spiers.
”I was in bits when he came over to see me. There were a few tears shed but now we’re making up for lost time.”
Andy added: ”I would always wonder where he was and what he was doing. As I got older I thought about him more and more and just wanted to find him.
”I’m just so happy. It’s like my life is complete now.
”There’s been a big part missing for so long but now everything is all right. It’s such a wonderful feeling.”
