A BRAINTREE man is desperate to find a brother and sister he never knew existed after discovering their birth registration documents buried in his dead mother's paperwork.
Ian Sharp, who has lived in the town all his life, was shocked to find the proof of twin siblings just two months ago, despite being raised to believe he was an only child by his mother Joyce.
Now the 47-year-old, who has no children or partner, is focusing all his efforts on being reunited with his long lost family whom he believes could be living somewhere in Essex.
"It was always just me and my mum growing up but I often had a feeling I might have siblings she didn't talk about," said Ian, who has recently had to leave his job at Braintree District Council as a result of debilitating arthritis.
"When we would argue she'd occasionally make comments about a brother and sister but she'd refuse to talk about it any more than that.
"She passed away a few years ago but I found these registration documents just recently as I was sorting through her things – it was such a huge shock."
Ian believes his twin brother and sister were born with the names Karen and Mark Sharp in December 1966 but has "no clue" about their lives beyond that.
He has heard from neighbours that they may have been temporarily taken in by a family living in Panfield Lane, but nobody has given him any indication as to why his mother decided not to keep her children.
"There is a gap between their birth and the registration, which makes me wonder whether she was in two minds," added Ian, who lives in Progress Court, Braintree.
"I lived with my aunt for a short while before they would have been born so I wonder if she took that time apart to make her decision.
"But it's something she never talked about even though we were close."
Since the shocking discovery, Ian, whose father committed suicide when he was ten years old, has talked to neighbours, visited the registry office, and even applied to appear on ITV show Long Lost Family in the hope of locating his brother and sister.
"I really want to find them even if it turns out they don't want to know me," he said.
"I don't have children and there isn't really anyone else. To be honest, this is occupying a lot of my time at the moment, I'm desperate to find them.
"And you never know – they might be searching for me too."
