Grandad raped by Lytham nun as a 12-year-old 'meets his child' more than 60 years later

Edward Hayes, 74, spoke out about his ordeal last month, with the grandfather telling how depraved Sister Mary Conleth, real name Bessie Veronica Lawler, sexually abused him as a 12-year-old.

And in a remarkable turn, his child's family got in touch, with Edward meeting his 62-year-old daughter and her four children - Edward's grandkids - in London last weekend, The Express reported.

He told the national paper: "It was the day I dared never believe would happen. This is it now, now that we have found each other. My twilight years are going to be good ones."

His daughter, who did not want to be named, added: "It was a day of pure joy for me and my family. After 20 years of looking for my father, I have finally found him at the age of 62."

After the tale of Edward's abuse hit the headlines last month, his daughter's family recognised the nun's name - and realised what she had done.

Edward added: "Of course it is a massive blow for her family. They are struggling to come to terms with being told their mother was a rapist.

"I don't think they believe it, that she was capable of that."

When Lawler fell pregnant, Edward was moved to a hostel in Carlisle, Cumbria, and believed his abuser had been sent to Ireland.

She actually gave birth in Surrey, the paper said, before returning to Lytham in a bid to find Edward, before giving up hope and building a new life across the Irish Sea.

She died in 2002.

Edward's abuse began in the laundry room, with the nun choosing not to wear underwear so she could lift her habit and straddle him.

By the age of 14, he was granted the unheard of privilege of having his own room, so the abuse could continue.

Edward later fought for compensation and received a paltry £20,000.

But he spoke out, saying the amount is derisory and doesn't atone for what he went through.

He waived his right to anonymity to lift the lid on his abuse and encourage other victims to come forward.

He said: “I have been through hell for the majority of my life, trying to hide what happened to me.

“Nobody should go through that. Seeking retribution has been great solace for me.”

Edward was just 10-years-old, and known as Billy, when he was taken to the now closed John Reynolds Home in East Beach, Lytham, in 1951.

The establishment was run by a Catholic congregation of nuns, The Franciscan Missionaries of St Joseph.

Having grown up poor and neglected, with vulnerable parents and suffering from malnutrition, arriving at the home was a blessing.

He said: “It was nice to be somewhere warm, where I was eating food and having hot baths. My first years there created some great memories for me.”

"I was a great student, I sang in the choir, I could read perfect Latin and playing football – even being touted by local football clubs.”

This changed when Irish nun Sister Conleth arrived three years later.

She worked in the laundry room and asked for Edward’s assistance.

The laundry was outside the home - which was actually three separate houses facing the sea, joined by a corridor at the back - and was set well back from the houses.

Edward was left on his own with Conleth, then 27, giving her carte blanche access to him daily.

He said: “I had barely started work in the laundry when it happened. I was still twelve. She’d pull my trousers down, push me to the floor and lay on top of me.

“She would pull her habit up and she had no pants on. She’d talk dirty to me - saying things like ‘time for a pop up now’ - that’s what she called it.

“I would not let her kiss me. I thought babies were made by men kissing women.”

By the time he was 14, Edward was even allocated his own room – something unheard of at the home.

The reason for the perk soon became apparent when Sister Conleth started paying him visits after lights out, all under the watchful eye of a Virgin Mary picture on the wall.

The abuse came to an end in April 1956 – after the nun declared she was pregnant.

Edward, who now lives in Cumbria, said: “At the time I didn’t even understand how I got her pregnant because I never kissed her. We were more naïve back then.”

The nun was away, while Edward was banished from the home after Christmas 1956.

He was then adopted by another family and began his chaotic adult life where he was an alcoholic by the time he was 21.