An American GI has enjoyed a return visit to Derbyshire to be reunited with his son - 57 years after being forced to leave him behind.

Ernest Andrews (82) was just 25 when he said goodbye to Long Eaton and left behind his 10-month-old son, James Lee.

But last week Mr Andrews flew from New York to see his long-lost son on his home soil.

Mr Lee (57), of Park Drive, Sandiacre, said: "I have always wanted to do to meet my father. I felt as though something was missing in my life."

Mr Andrews said: "It is a feeling that cannot explain. It was wonderful."

The soldier first came to the county with the American Army in 1943 and was based in Hilton.

He met Mr Lee's mother, Eileen, at the Rialto Dance Hall in Long Eaton and the pair fell in love. It was not long before she became pregnant and their son James was born in 1944.

But just a year later Mr Andrews returned to his native country when the war ended. Despite his protests, the army would not allow him to stay.

With an ocean between the couple, the pair went their separate ways and five years later Eileen married Reg Lee. James's surname was changed from Andrews to Lee.

But from a young age Mr Lee knew he had a biological father somewhere and it became his dearest wish to meet him.

He explained: "I found a photograph of my father when I was small. My mother would not talk about him.

"The only thing I could do was try to find him myself."

Mr Lee managed to track down his original birth certificate at Ilkeston Register Office, where his surname had been changed all those years ago.

"When we got the copy and saw Dad's Army number, everything fell into place," he said.

Mr Lee, helped by his son Andrew (33), knew there were 195 Ernest Andrews in America who could be his father but once they had the army number and the help of Trace, an organisation which help people find their real parents, they narrowed it down to three.

They called all three and found the right Ernest Andrews in Wyandanch, New York, in April. He and Andrew went to New York within days of the discovery for the first emotional meeting.

Last week Mr Andrews and his wife Rudell (74), daughter Anne (58), son-in-law Delano and granddaughter Dora (22) returned the favour and flew over to Derbyshire for a 10-day stay to meet new members of their family for the first time.