The long-lost letter from a dying mother to her young daughter has been reunited with its owner after 15 years.
Bethany Gash, 21, thought she would never seen the loving note her mother left for her after it went missing during a house move when she was around six years old.
She discovered the letter had reemerged along with a photo of the pair in an envelope found in a pile of books at a second hand bookshop in Bishop Auckland, County Durham.
The owner of Bondgate Books, Gordon Draper, launched an appeal in a local newspaper for anyone with information to come forward in the hopes of returning the letter and the photo.
Eventually it made it’s way back to Ms Gash, who lives in the neighbouring town of Ferryhill.
Her mother, Lisa, died of cystic fibrosis at the age of 36.
It reads: "If your dad is reading this to you it is because I have died and gone to heaven to live with the angels."
She explained she had a "poorly chest" and an operation to fix it had not worked.
It continued: "I will always be in the sky making sure you are alright and watching over you so when you see a bright star, like in the nursery rhyme Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, that's me.
"I hope you don't forget me because I'll always be your mam."
The note also reminded her to look after Rosie - her pet rabbit.
Ms Gash said: "I think it was possibly put in a book for safe-keeping, but it has been discarded when we moved.
"I didn't think there would be a chance of ever seeing it again.
"I can look back at it at any time I want and the words in it are so close to us.
"This is the last piece of my mum that I have."
Mr Draper was "overwhelmed" that he and his friend Albert Mark were able to return it.
He said: "She is really made up that she has got the letter back. She thought she would never see it again.
"She had given up looking for it. I'm very pleased."
Additional reporting by PA
