Relatives of a spinster are desperately trying to trace a mystery woman named in her will.

Theresia Davies died at Brighton General Hospital on May 17 at the age of 97.

Miss Davies was born in Wales and moved to Worthing to work as a legal secretary before moving back to mid-Wales in the mid-Seventies.

She later returned to Worthing where she invested in her nephew's nursing home business and eventually settled in Heathfield.

Miss Davies identified her niece Bronwen Sanders, 53, from Eastbourne, and her nephew Trevor Francis as beneficiaries but also included a Mrs Betty Bowen.

Mrs Sanders is now desperate to find the mystery woman before her aunt is finally laid to rest.

She said the last wish of her "Aunty Thirza" was to be buried in the Rhondda Valley, South Wales.

However she wants Mrs Bowen to claim her one-third share of Miss Davies' estate before the funeral is held.

Mrs Sanders said: "I grew up calling her my Aunty Thirza and thinking of her as my fairy godmother but her death came as a great shock to me and all the friends she made in Heathfield.

"All I am able to find out is that there was a Mrs Betty Bowen who lived opposite my Aunty Thirza several years ago in Llansantffraid's Victoria Terrace.

"It is believed she moved from there to St Asaph or Rhuddlan."

Miss Davies' body is lying at Brighton General's mortuary.

If Mrs Bowen is found she stands to gain a one-third share of Miss Davies' household goods and personal effects, although the exact value is not known.

If the mystery woman has died then it will be passed on to her next of kin.

Mrs Sanders is in talks with Mr Francis to establish where their aunt should be buried.

She wants to see her interred at Treorchy Cemetery in Wales where she says Miss Davies' father is buried.

Mrs Sanders hopes the burial service can take place next Monday.

Anybody with information is asked to phone 01962 735043.