AN APPEAL to help a man trace the long-lost relatives of his grandfather has "worked wonders".

Two weeks ago, the Radcliffe Times reported how Christopher Taylor had spent years trying to track down the descendants of Cyril Wilford Williams Horton, who changed his name to Patrick after marrying his third wife and moving to Radcliffe, and was desperate for any surviving relatives to get in touch.

Just a few days after his appeal was published, the 60-year-old was inundated with calls from newfound distant relatives - including Cyril's eldest living child - and people who knew his grandfather.

Mr Taylor, who lives in Worcestershire, said: "I have had so many calls since the appeal went out a couple of weeks ago, it has been really wonderful.

"The response has been so much greater than I ever expected. It has reached a wide range of people and everyone I have spoken to has been lovely.

"Putting the appeal in the paper has done more for me than anything else I could have achieved myself.

"It's such a complicated story that it became really difficult to track people down myself, so I thought they might be able to come to me.

"I'm so happy, the appeal worked wonders and has been a great conclusion to four years of hard work."

Frances Baker is the eldest daughter of Cyril, who she knew only as Patrick, and his fourth wife, Mary Baker. She was just six years old when her father died and has no photos of him, but recognised his face instantly when she saw the newspaper.

She has been in regular contact with Mr Taylor since reading the article and has been able to visit her father's grave at Bury Cemetery for the first time.

The 53-year-old, who lives in Breightmet, said: "I was so shocked by it. I didn't know my dad had been married before, let alone that he had other children and grandchildren.

"I saw his photo in the paper and I thought I knew that face. I have no pictures of him at all and he died when I was only six years old, but I knew that face straight away and it all came back to me.

"Chris and I have spoken a few times and he has told me all about his family. He's my nephew, which is a bit strange because he's older than me.

"It's very interesting, but very weird. I have always known him as Patrick, so to hear that he was called Cyril first is very odd."

Mr Taylor has also spoken to Billy and Janet Rainford, the grandchildren of Ethel Sharples - Cyril's third wife, and their aunt, Ann Greaves, who was brought up with Cyril and Ethel's children.