Two brothers who lost contact for six decades have been reunited thanks to a community magazine.
Leslie Clark had agreed to take part in a photoshoot at his Abbots Langley home for the Watford Community Housing publication, but never could have imagined what it would lead to.
The 88-year-old had just has his house fitted with new insulation as a part of the Green Homes Grant Scheme to make properties more eco-friendly.
The magazine was delivered to almost all of the housing association's tenants - with one of the copies being posted through the letterbox of Peter Clark, according to Hull Live.
The 79-year-old was gardening on that day in September before taking a tea break and picking up the magazine to have a flick through.
He was astounded to see a photo of Leslie Clark on one of the pages, a man who bore a striking resemblance to his long-lost brother and who would be the same age.
The pair had last seen each other in 1961.
Leslie recalls Peter bringing a gift for his son when he lived on Watford's Meriden estate.
Speaking about seeing his brother's photo, Peter said: "I couldn’t quite believe it. I’d just taken a break from the gardening to have a cup of tea and I read through this story, all the while thinking, that’s got to be my brother!
"There was a little bit of doubt though as I hadn’t seen him in so long. It was difficult to picture him at the age he is now. But I rang Watford Community Housing, and they passed my phone number on to Leslie. I waited, and sure enough he rang, and we arranged to meet."
The pair were both born in the Hertfordshire town and have lived around the area their whole lives, but miraculously had never bumped into each other in all these years.
Lesley worked at Rolls-Royce for almost 30 years and had a family of his own, and he has lived in Abbots Langley now for around 60 years. Peter was a chef for 16 years and also worked on building sites, even spending a little time working alongside Bradley Walsh.
Peter said: "The strange thing is we’d both been living in Watford almost the whole time, barely a stone’s throw from each other. And it took a photo in a magazine for us to be reunited.
"The first time we met up again, Leslie came over to my house and then we went down to the pub and had a good old natter. As you’d imagine we had a lot to catch up on!"
Lesley added: "It was a shock to see Peter standing there in the doorway, especially considering I’d been looking for him all these years.
"It’s fantastic to be able to spend time with my brother again."
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