MUM Gaye Timbrell was sent on a trip down memory lane when her decision to take out a fireplace in her Devizes home unearthed a letter to Santa written more than half a century ago.

She is now trying to trace Graham and Jean Brinkworth who must have lived in Brickley Lane in the 1950s.

Mrs Timbrell of Brickley Lane, who has grown up children, said: "The man doing the plastering came across it. It is neatly written on a piece of brown paper and addressed to Father Christmas at the North Pole. I would imagine the boy is younger than the girl and he gets straight to the point of what he would like for Christmas asking for a lorry and a pop gun.

"The girl seems older and starts by telling Santa she has been a good girl before asking for pencils and a plastic doll to dress."

Mrs Timbrell, who now works as a civilian at RAF Lyneham after a career in the air force, has tried to trace the family but without luck and now hopes people in Devizes might remember the Brinkworth family living in Brickley Lane.

She said: "It would be really nice to find out who the little boy and girl were and to maybe reunite them with the letter they wrote all of those years ago.

"It was lovely to read about the simple things they wanted. It is quite different to what you imagine children who live in today's high-tech world are probably asking for this Christmas. I have tried looking up Brinkworths in Devizes but haven't got very far.

"I really hope someone recognises the names and knows what has happened to them. It would be lovely to trace the family and to give it back to them. The letter is very simply written in children's writing definitely not done by an adult.. It is just one piece of brown paper."

The letter from Graham Brinkworth says: "Dear Father Christmas I want a big lorry, pop gun, tractor, a quack book, a gee book."

His sister Jean wrote: "Dear Father Christmas I have been a good girl. Please send me pencils in a box, a desk and chair, a writing book, a plastic doll to dress."

If you know Graham or Jean Brinkworth contact jmoore3@gazetteandherald.co.uk