Girl Scout

Pen pals who have written hundreds of letters to each other over nearly 70 years have fulfilled their " lifelong wish" to meet In Person .

Patsy Gregory, 80, from Hoghton in Lancashire, travelled nearly 4,000 miles to meet up with Carol-Ann Krause in Conway, South Carolina .

Patsy said Carol-Ann - who is the same age - was exactly as she imagined and their meeting was " very natural".

The pair began writing to each other in 1955, aged 12.

At The Time Patsy was a Girl Guide and Carol-Ann a Girl Scout .

" We're both the same age [and] got married around the same time, " said Patsy.

She added: " [We] both had three children and we've gone through Life - All the trials and tribulations and shared it.

" It's absolutely lovely and we're both Still Here . "

" Granted, we hadn't met In Person before but it feels like we've known each other forever, " said Carol-Ann.

She added: " We started in pencil, moved on to ink, then typing and now we can email and stay In Touch on Social Media . It's come a long way. "

Patsy's trip was organised by her three children as a special gift for her 80th Birthday - and Her Daughter Steph Calam accompanied her for The Journey .

" Mum has always wanted to meet her American penfriend, it was on her bucket list And One of her lifelong regrets they'd never met up, " She Said .

" It was very emotional when they met, I was quite choked up when they hugged for the First Time .

" They hit it off instantly and have a lot in common, they've been talking non-stop. "

Patsy and Stephanie visited South Carolina for Nine Days and spent much of their time with Carol-Ann and her family.

The Friends said they planned to stay In Touch through letters and cards but added they did not know if they would get the chance to meet up again.

Source of news: bbc.com