A mother has described the "miracle" moment grainy footage of her young daughter playing with friends in a school playground emerged - 37 years after her death.

June Jones, 78, lost her daughter Kerry when she died from a brain tumour aged just eight in June 1980.

Two years earlier in 1978 Kerry was filmed playing and skipping with friends at Wilnecote Junior School, Tamworth, Staffordshire.

But the footage was only discovered by Ms Jones' family when her son Darren stumbled across it whilst browsing Facebook.

The discovery, almost four decades after Kerry's death, was praised as a "Mother's Day miracle" by Ms Jones.

On Friday Ms Jones described herself as being overcome with emotion at seeing her daughter's face again.

Fighting back tears, she added: "When I first saw her l just started crying - it really hit me hard. I kept saying 'that's my little girl, that's my little girl'.

"I actually can't believe I got to see her again, especially when she looked so happy with her friends."

A friend of son Darren, 50, shared the footage on Facebook - which he happened to watch.

He said: "When I saw it I couldn't believe it. At first I didn't want to believe what I saw.

"Because the quality isn't the best, it makes you second-guess yourself.

"But after watching it five or six times l just knew it was her."

Ms Jones, whose late husband Dennis also died from a brain tumour aged 67, described it as a "complete coincidence" that her son came across the footage and recognised his sister.

"Being so close to Mother's Day, it couldn't have happened at a more perfect time - it was fate," Ms Jones said.

"My precious little girl wanted me to know she was still here.

'It's a Mother's Day miracle. 'I think that's why it happened. It's the best gift ever."

She said that doctors initially diagnosed Kerry's headaches as "growing pains", but when they eventually operated it was too late.

"We were heartbroken so this footage just provides me with happy memories," Ms Jones added.

"I shed a tear every time I watch it - but they are happy tears."