Two sisters who were both given away at six months old by their American heiress mother have met for the first time.

Jennifer West and Patricia Wills recognised one another instantly, ran into each others arms and broke down in tears at Cape Town airport in South Africa.

It was an emotional meeting, fused with joy and pain but one they had yearned for since speaking on the telephone for the first time in February.

It brought feelings of elation but also a deep reminder of how they were given away as babies by their mother Uretta Branch, who lived in Brighton and died last year.

For Jennifer, 58, who only found out she was adopted in October last year, the meeting was everything she had hoped for.

She said: "It healed all the pain for me. When I saw Patricia at the airport I dropped my suitcase, ran towards her and gave her a big hug. Tears ran down my face.

"She was the first blood relative I had ever set eyes on apart from my two children.

"It was a complete bombshell when I discovered I was adopted. It was a shock I had a sister who was also given away. Everything about myself was a lie. I didn't know who I was or where I came from.

"To meet her and be welcomed into her family is an incredible sensation. I feel as if I have come home."

As the sisters sipped champagne, gazed at one another and chatted like they had never been apart, they discovered they had much in common.

Jennifer, who has two children and now lives in Queensland, Australia, said: "We are so alike in every way. We talk the same, eat the same and even walk the same. We both have a similar sense of humour, just like our mother."

She said the most moving moment was when Patricia played a tape, sent when Uretta died, of their mother talking about her life on a Brighton radio station in the Eighties.

Jennifer said: "I just listened to my mother's voice and didn't hear any of the words. It sent a shiver down my spine. It was like a voice coming out of the grave."

She said she had never felt angry at her mother for giving her away but just wanted to know why she did.

Born in August 1943 to American heiress Uretta, who came to England in the Forties, Jennifer was given up for adoption and brought up by a family in London.

Her sister Patricia, who is four years older, was brought up by wealthy plantation owners in Jamaica.

Jennifer said: "Just by talking to Patricia about our mother and looking at the few letters she has, I feel like I know her now. She loved life but just may not have been a natural mother. There are still a lot of unanswered questions but now I have an identity. I feel happier and more at peace than I have ever done."

For Patricia, 62, who always knew she was adopted and found out in her teens she might have a sister, the meeting was a special moment.

The mother of six, who lives in Cape Town, South Africa, said: "I was quite tense before I met her and then the flight was delayed after the tragedy in America.

"So when Jenny arrived it was a huge relief. I started to relive my past and felt angry I was never told I had a sister but having Jenny there was lovely. Why she gave us both away is still a mystery but we will never lose touch now."

The sisters will spend time getting to know each other on a trip along the South African coast.

Both hope to visit Brighton next year.