A pair of 80-year-old pen pals who have been writing to each other since 1955 have finally fulfilled their “lifelong wish” to meet in person.

Patsy Gregory, from Hoghton in Lancashire, travelled nearly 4,000 miles to meet Carol-Ann Krause in Conway, South Carolina, who she began writing to as a 12-year-old Girl Guide.

Mrs Gregory said Mrs Krause was exactly as she imagined she would be.

“I recognised her immediately and it just felt natural,” she said.

Mrs Gregory said though the pair had met not before, their lives had taken similar patterns.

“We’re both the same age [and] got married around the same time,” she said.

“[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.”

Mrs Krause, who was a Girl Scout when the correspondence began, said though they had not met before in person, “it feels like we’ve known each other forever”.

“We started in pencil, moved on to ink, then typing and now we can email and stay in touch on social media,” she said.

“It’s come a long way.”

Mrs Gregory’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,” Ms Calam said.

She said the meeting had been on her mother’s “bucket list”, as it was “one of her lifelong regrets” that they had never met in person.

“It was very emotional when they met,”she added.

“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.”

Mrs Gregory and her daughter stayed for nine days in South Carolina, with much of that time being spent with Mrs Krause and her family.

The two pen pals said they would continue to stay in touch through letters and cards, but were not sure if the meeting would ever be repeated.

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