TODAY our hearts go out to a father and son reunited yesterday for the first time in almost 40 years.

Their get-together should have been such a joyous family occasion - sharing memories of all those missing years.

But we are sorry to report that, for Eddie Humphries and his son Colin, their tears of joy were stained with sadness.

Only last week another of Eddie's sons, Stephen, was beaten to death behind a Darlington town-centre pub.

How tragic that, instead of being able to shake the hand of his long-lost son, Mr Humphries and family will now have to make arrangements for his funeral.

It is understandable that the grief-stricken father, who has suffered from severe ill-health, cannot come to terms with what has happened.

Stephen and his brother Colin - along with sister Pamela and brother Michael - were taken into care as babies and lost touch with each other.

But we are pleased that Colin will at least have some happy memories of Stephen, his "warm and gentle" brother.

Two years ago he managed to track him down and Stephen became part of the family with Colin's wife Joelle and five-year-old daughter Chloe.

He shared their home for a short while and "thought the world" of his niece.

We sincerely hope that those memories of his brother and finding his father again will help Colin and the rest of family to get through this dreadful time.