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They became best friends – then discovered they were brother and sister

Rowan Bridge
News imageBBC Two adults seated side by side in the foreground on dark waiting-room chairs, holding hands. One wears a light grey polo shirt with a yellow bee emblem and has a tattooed forearm; the other wears a light blue overshirt over a white top and denim shorts. Additional rows of chairs surround them. In the background, a reception window, information boards, a red wall-mounted emergency box, and a no-smoking sign are visible inside a public waiting area.BBC
Dave and Andrea met while they were both working at Manchester airport

Dave Green and Andrea Urmston found they instantly hit it off when their paths crossed while working in separate roles at Manchester Airport.

The two strangers got on so well they could complete each other's sentences - which made sense when they discovered the truth.

Green was the adopted brother Urmston had not seen in more than 30 years.

"I was shaking, I was just shaking and my heart was pounding," Urmston told the BBC. "I'd finally found him. It's unbelievable."

In 2005, Green was managing the bus station at the airport and Urmston serviced the vending machines.

Over the next two years they became firm friends, texting and phoning each other when they were not at work.

One day during a phone call, Green told Urmston something he had never mentioned before. He was adopted and his birth name was Stuart Proudlove.

"I kind of froze and didn't speak for a minute," says Urmston. Her maiden name was Proudlove and she had a brother who was adopted before she was born.

"It's not a very popular name and it had to be him. Other than family, I had never heard that surname anywhere else," she added.

She immediately rang her mum, Susan, to check her long-lost brother's birth date. They matched: 24 March 1966. She called Stuart straight back.

"I said 'it's got to be you, it's got to be you', and I said 'I need to see you', and so I went to pick him up," Urmston said.

News imageTwo adults standing close together in the foreground of an indoor waiting area. One person wears a light blue shirt over a white top and has hair tied back; the other wears a light grey polo shirt with a yellow badge featuring a bee symbol and has a tattooed forearm. Rows of dark chairs are visible behind them, with blurred columns, ceiling lights and windows extending along the corridor in the background. No visible bags, bins or markers are present.
Dave had driven past his mum's house for years without realising

As they were driving to their mum's, Green realised where he was. They were driving along the bus route he used to cover before becoming a manager.

His old route had taken him right past his mum's house, and the school that Urmston had attended.

He had been within touching distance of his birth family without realising.

Susan finally meeting Green was a surreal moment. "There were lots of tears," said Urmston, "then we just all hugged."

"I couldn't believe that I'd got my brother and my mum together, it was amazing."

Urmston's mum had told her that she had a brother when she was younger.

She told her he had been given up for adoption and had gone to a lovely lady who could not have children of her own.

"I immediately wanted to go and call him so we could play," Urmston recalled. Susan said she had tried to find her son with the help of the Salvation Army, but hadn't got anywhere.

News imageAndrea Urmston Two people positioned closely together in the foreground of a domestic kitchen. One wears a dark hooded sweatshirt with a gold logo; the other wears glasses, a white knitted cardigan with large buttons, and a pink top underneath. Behind them is a white refrigerator with magnets and notes attached. The background includes wood-panelled walls, a doorway leading to another room, and household furnishings. No bags, bins or floor markers are visible.Andrea Urmston
Andrea with her mum Susan

"I asked if we could go and get him back," Urmston said, "she did explain that it didn't work that way, so I promised her that I would find him for her one day."

Now they were finally being reunited.

"She had wanted that since being as young as I can remember," Urmston said, "so yeah, I gave her that. I promised her that."

On the mantlepiece in Susan's home was a picture of Green as a baby.

It had been sent by his adopted parents to his birth mother days after his adoption.

The same photograph had also been displayed in his adopted parents' house.

Green had known he was adopted since he was 10 years old - his adopted parents had shown him the paperwork.

But he says he had a very happy childhood, and had never harboured any desire to track down his birth mother.

"I didn't feel like I had to go searching or have any unanswered questions," said Green.

For all three, finding each other has been a life-changing experience.

"I went from having really not a lot of positivity in my life at the time, to finding out that my best friend was my sister," Green added.

"I'd found my birth mum being able to sort of make her truly happy. And I'd found a family really that I never really knew existed."

Their mum died recently, but both say they are glad she got to be reunited with her son.

"She was so desperate to find you to make sure you'd had a really good life," Urmston said.

For Urmston the reunion is bittersweet. She had longed to find her brother for years.

"My mum and dad, they separated unfortunately and so I went through a lot of hard times knowing [Dave] was out there but I didn't know [where]."

Both though now say they are making the most of the time they have together after moving in with each other in Kidsgrove, Staffordshire. It is, they say, their "lottery win".