A telephone call revealed a 40-year-old family secret that was to change a Sussex man's life.

Bus driver Paul Hawkins, 33, of Latimer Road, Eastbourne, was shocked to find out he had a sister he had never known.

Now he is keen to find his older sister, called Caroline, who was given up for adoption years before his birth.

Paul said: "I had lost contact with my aunt about three years ago but I phoned her on Sunday.

"She broke down on the telephone and said she had something to tell me. She told me my mum had given birth to a baby girl nine years before I was born.

"I couldn't believe it. My aunt was upset and I was upset. She just dropped this bombshell."

Paul's mother, Christine Childs, had baby Caroline when she was 13.

The child was given up for adoption to a family who lived in the Brighton area.

His mother, who died from cancer nine years ago and lived in Brighton until the late Eighties, never spoke of her daughter.

She also swore her sister, Brenda, to secrecy.

Paul said: "I have to find this woman, my sister. She probably doesn't even know about me.

"I just want to tell her she has family. I'm sure she has her own life now but I really want to meet her."

Paul was born to a different father nine years after his sister's birth and had the same surname as her until his mother remarried.

She changed his name by deed poll from her maiden name of Childs to Hawkins while Paul was still at school.

He is not even sure if his stepfather, who lives in the Hailsham area, is aware of the secret.

Paul will also break the news to his two children, aged 15 and 13.

He said: "I don't know who my real father is but he was not the same as my sister's.

"I would like to find him as well. I think my aunt knows who he is.

"It sounds unbelievable but it's all true. My sister was adopted in Brighton at three months old. There must be somebody in Brighton who knew her, her adoptive parents or even my mother or my aunt, Brenda Grant."

Paul would like to tell his sister, who will be 42 this Christmas, about his family and her other brother, David, aged 13.

He believes she may still be in the area.

He is appealing for Caroline, or anyone who can help lead him to her, to contact The Argus on 01323 724204.