Adopted triplets separated for 69 years have been successfully reunited after a 25-year search.

Adoption search and support group Norcap managed to bring the triplets together following a landmark ruling by the High Court.

The story began nearly 70 years ago when the three babies were born into a family of nine children on May 18 1932 at Sevenoaks in Kent.

Their mother died after giving birth and the triplets were then adopted by different families. Today only four of the nine children survive.

The oldest triplet was Florence, followed by John, and then May.

Florence and John were reunited after finding each other 25 years ago and have been looking for May since then.

They anticipated they would be able to find their the third triplet fairly easily. But each time hopeful leads ended in failure and disappointment.

The problem was that although the triplets were entitled to their own birth records which revealed the identities of their birth parents, they were not entitled to know details of each other because their siblings had also been adopted.

They found the situation hard to believe and last year contacted a BBC series called The Search in the hope that it may at last bring new luck to their search.

The programme's producer Nick Handel was moved by their story and contacted Norcap to ask for help and guidance.

Pam Hodgkins, founder of the group, initially tried to obtain details of the triplets from long-standing adoption agencies but to no avail.

The only hope seemed to be to use a little-known clause in the 1976 Adoption Act and apply to the High Court for information about the third triplet to be released.

Because the legal costs of such an action would have been prohibitively expensive, Pam decided to take and prepare the case herself, facing hot-shot lawyers acting for the Registrar General.

The application was heard before His Honour Mr Justice Sumner who, in April, agreed to grant the order requiring information to be disclosed about the third triplet.

In his ruling he said: "I am encouraged both by the lack of harm or upset to Miss H and by Article 8 [of the European Convention on Human Rights]. In the case of triplets seeking to find each other after more than 60 years, I am satisfied the court should make the order sought."

Initially Norcap feared the Registrar General would appeal against the order for fear of any precedent being established. But no appeal was made and the information about May was sent to Norcap in April.

The details included her name and address and her parents names in 1934. In just five days, Norcap managed to track down May, now Helena, using public and church records.

Pam and Angela Tanner, chair of Norcap, visited Helena at her home in Kent last month. They shared her family history with her and answered many questions.

After due consideration, Helena decided she would welcome contact with her brother and sister and she opened the communication by sending a card to each.

Letters, photographs and telephone calls followed and the trio finally met together for the first time in 69 years at Norcap's Oxfordshire headquarters at noon yesterday.

It was an emotional time for Florence, now called Gill Temple, a dance teacher, from Devon, her brother John, now called David Welburn, and Helena.

Gill, and husband of 48 years Jock, live in Devon, and have a son, a daughter and a granddaughter. David, an engineer from Yorkshire, whose wife died four years ago after 39 years of marriage has two sons, a daughter, nine grandchildren and three great grandchildren.

And long-lost triplet Helena, is a widow who was married for 28 years. She worked as a children's nurse and has two daughters, a son and eight grandchildren.

Norcap is hoping the reunion of the triplets will draw attention to its plight to alter the laws which prevent birth families knowing details of relatives lost to adoption.

In 1976, England became one of the first countries in the world to grant adopted adults the right to see their original birth certificates. The laws were changed to recognise the need many adoptees felt to make sense of their past.

But no provision was made for birth relatives - including siblings - of adopted people, to gain information about the identity of their adopted relatives.

Norcap has been campaigning for a change in the law to bring the UK into line with some 25 other countries across the world which allow birth relatives access to information about adopted relatives once they become adults.

"The UK is now alone in offering a one sided service," said a spokesperson. "Research and experience from around the world has shown us that offering a service to both adopted people and birth relatives is successful and welcomed by those affected.

"We were very disappointed when the Adoption and Children Bill presented to Parliament in March 2001 did not include any of the proposals we had been pressing on Ministers for many years.

"The Bill was mentioned in the Queen's speech and will be reintroduced shortly. We trust that MPs and Ministers, especially the new Social Services Minister - Jacqui Smith - will not only share our joy that these triplets have been reunited, but also recognise the need to make provision in the new act to ensure other triplets, twins, siblings and other relatives separated by adoption do not have to negotiate such a difficult path, nor have to wait so long."

See also:

Ruling could help reunite triplets