A Spanish coronavirus patient's search for a long lost friend has ended successfully.

As reported on Friday, Antonio Garcia is battling the illness as well as other underlying health problems.

His dearest wish was to be reunited with a Kent woman named Sally who he met on the Mediterranean island of Majorca in the early 1960s.

He had later visited her at her home on Cordova Court, Sandgate Road, Folkestone, but they eventually lost touch.

The search was complicated because the 86-year-old couldn't clearly remember what Sally's surname was – thinking it was possibly Nicholas.

He remembered her brother Stephen and pet dog Mina but very little else.

KentOnline was emailed by his daughter Pilar, who works as a translator in the Dutch city of Eindhoven.

She explained her dad would love nothing more than to be able to speak to Sally again, possibly in a video conference.

Today, we were contacted by London-based family historian Kim who had been approached by a friend who'd read the article.

She determined that the mystery woman's full name was Sally Cooper nee Vallins Nicholas and she was now living in Beaufort, County Kerry, Ireland.

We called the village supermarket and spoke to postmaster Melvin who knows Sally and her husband John.

He offered to go and tell them of the situation as they are currently "cocooned" indoors because of the virus lockdown.

Sally then called and confirmed that it was her and that she did remember Antonio from all those years ago.

And in a coincidence, the 76-year-old revealed that her son also lives in the Netherlands, about 20 minutes from Pilar.

She left Kent in the 1960s and has lived in different places around the world, including Germany, Kenya and America.

She has resided in Ireland for the past 20 years and was amazed to hear Antonio remembered her dog.

"Yes, it was a Boxer," she said. "It's amazing, it's just so long ago now."

Pilar was overcome to hear the news Sally had been found, thanking everybody who had played a role.

She said: "I have just spoken to her and it was quite something; it was amazing. It was wonderful, she was so nice."

They are arranging to have a WhatsApp video call one afternoon this coming week where the old friends can chat for the first time in more than 50 years.

The two women also plan to meet face-to-face when Sally next visits her son when the lockdown is finally lifted.

In other good news, her father's condition has improved slightly over the past couple of days and he is able to sit and speak with his grandchildren.

Another call came to KentOnline from a former school friend of Sally's, Paul Seward, whose family ran St Olive's Hotel opposite Cordova Court.

He was keen to be put in touch with her as he hadn't seen her in decades.

Read more: All the latest news from Folkestone

Read more: Latest coronavirus news from Kent