A WOMAN who tracked down her estranged mum after 50 years apart has published her first book, capturing the incredible tale.

Margaret Lashmar, of Third Avenue, Walton, suffered heartbreak when she was just five years old after her mother disappeared without warning.

She ran away with a lodger, leaving Margaret and her dad behind, never to make contact again.

But 50 years later, in 2000, after decades of unsuccessful searching, Margaret’s husband Greg came across a radio programme by chance.

It led to the discovery of a website, which allowed Margaret to trace her mother’s location to Oxford and finally make contact.

She said: “For all that time we didn’t hear from her. She really made a clean break.

“The worst part of it after all those years was not knowing what happened to her. Not even knowing if she was alive or dead. I never thought I would find her.”

Margaret discovered her mother was living in Oxford with her new husband and had had another four children after her disappearance.

A meeting was eventually arranged for her to be reunited with her long-lost family.

Margaret had 14 years with her mother before she died, aged 94, at the end of 2013.

They visited each other, exchanged letters, photographs and stories as they made up for lost time.

She decided to write a memoir to document the astonishing family tale.

Husband Greg helped her self-publish the book, which is now on sale. It is called And Who Are You?

She added: “It’s an amazing story.

“In the end, it was enjoyable and a relief to get it all out and down in writing.

“Now I sometimes get people coming up to me and saying how much they enjoyed it and that they couldn’t put it down. I’ve even been asked to sign copies.”

Margaret added: “I wrote this for myself and family members, not because I thought anyone else would buy a copy.

“But I’m proud to have made something that people enjoy and it has finally given me a sense of closure.”

The book is on sale now. For details, go to stonepointpress.co.uk