A New Zealand family were brought together after the results of a MyHeritage DNA test found that a brother and sister were mere miles apart in the same town.

Terry Smith, 51, had no knowledge of the identity of his father, so in March 2018 he used a DNA test to try and connect with his lost father.

Susan Butler, 52, is the half sibling to Terry as they share the same father and knew that he had additional children, so she used a DNA test to tentatively search for any matches.

When the results came back for Susan, she uncovered that Terry was a DNA match which lead her to Facebook and messaging 15 other Terry Smith's.

Terry’s mother had never told his father that she was pregnant, so there were surprises on both sides.

Not only was Susan introduced to a half-brother for the first time, but father and son, Bruce and Terry, were also shocked to learn about one another.

Susan said: "Thank you so much, from myself, my brother Terry and my father Bruce, we feel blessed.

"It has been amazing to find I had a brother. For Terry, as well, it has filled a huge gap in his life.

"I’m so pleased to say he and our father Bruce are already forming a close relationship."

Terry said: "For me to have found our sister and my father, it’s a lot.

"51 years without a father and all of a sudden I have all this other side of the family. It’s just changed my life."

ENDS