WHEN Kitty Dawson and Margaret Greenhill lined up for a reunion photograph, they never realised how close it would bring them.

Both women had been former contestants in the Miss Crimdon beauty competition which, in its heyday, attracted crowds of up to 80,000 people.

Both had been invited to help celebrate the recent revamp of the once-popular County Durham holiday spot.

Ms Dawson, 84, who took part in the first pageant in 1936 and won it three years later, had only a short distance to travel to Crimdon from her home in Peterlee, County Durham.

But Ms Greenhill, 69, made the long trek from her home in Wimbledon, London, to be part of the one-off memorable line-up, published in The Northern Echo this week.

And it was after the photo call and still wearing her Miss Crimdon sash that Ms Dawson spoke to Ms Greenhill's sister, Marie Campbell, of Horden, and realised their families had come from Thornley.

A few more reminiscences with Ms Greenhill and the two women realised that Ms Dawson's grandmother, Kate Wright, and Ms Greenhill's grandfather, John Luke, were brother and sister.

Ms Greenhill said: "I was amazed, I could not believe it.

"Both of us had been beauty queens in our day and stood on the same stage, but it had taken this reunion all these years later for us to meet as second cousins."

Yesterday, on the eve of her return to London, the two women got together at Ms Dawson's home to catch up on the lost family years.

Ms Dawson said: "It was exciting enough to be reunited with all the other beauty queens, but to find that Margaret was my second cousin was just great as, surprisingly, we have never met before."

And it was while sitting together the two realised they had the same family trait.

"My grandfather had striking pale blue eyes, and both Kitty and I have been blessed with them," said Ms Greenhill, who pledged they would keep in close contact.