A 82-YEAR-OLD widow is trying to find the sister she has been separated from since 1933.

Maud Alexander Kemp, nee Skerritt, of Western Court, Stacksteads, was 13 when her mother Mina died aged 35 from septicemia shortly after giving birth to sister Jean.

Her father William was unable to cope with Maud, her three brothers and Jean, so the family was split up. Maud lived with her grandma, her brothers went to an orphanage and Jean was left with her father who later put her up to be fostered. William died in 1945 and never disclosed who was given care of Jean.

Her brothers Gordon and Donald always forbade Maud finding her sister, but they died last year. The other brother, Kenneth, died a young man in the 1930s.

Now Maud, whose arthritis and general health problems are mounting, is determined to find Jean before she dies.

Maud moved to Stacksteads 11 years ago from Manchester after the death of her husband. Until her mother's death the Skerritt family lived at 6 Nantwich Road, Manchester.

"I can't get it out of my head," said Maud. "My health has got worse and this has made me want to find my sister before it's too late."

Anyone with any information should call the Lancashire Evening Telegraph on 01282 423161.