A trio of siblings were moved to tears by a surprise reunion with their grandmother who flew across the globe to see them for the first time in two and a half years. Diane, 63, left her home in East Sussex, England, and flew all the way to Perth, Australia, to visit her son Stuart Halfacree, 43, her daughter-in-law Emily, 36, and their children. Parents Emily and Stuart decided to keep Nana Diane's visit a secret from their children Gracie, 16, Sam, 13, and Lily, nine, who hadn't seen their grandmother for two and a half years due to numerous cancelled trips over covid. Mum Emily filmed the beautiful moment that Diane burst through the door on April 2, surprising her three grandchildren who ran straight over to give her a cuddle. The kids look visibly shocked in the heart-warming clip with their mouths dropped open as they wrap their beloved grandma in a four way hug in a wonderful start to her three week visit. Eldest sibling Gracie couldn't help but burst into tears during the sweet reunion with her grandmother who had travelled over 9,000 miles to see the family. Hospital ward clerk Emily, who moved to Perth with her family in 2009, said: "It was amazing to surprise our kids with a visit from their Nana after so long apart. We live in Australia and all of our family live in England. "It had been two and a half years of FaceTime calls and messages, hoping and wishing that one day the world would go back to normal and we could see each other again. That day finally came last month. "Australia have been extremely strict about letting people in and out of the country due to covid. As such, we have been one of the safest places in the world, but families have suffered through long absences. "As soon as our premier announced we were opening to international travellers, Diane booked a flight immediately. Our three children are her only grandchildren, she misses them dearly. "We decided to keep it a secret as up until two days before, we still weren't sure if she was coming - if her PCR test came back positive, she would not have been able to fly. "She arrived at 1AM so she went to bed for a few hours, hence her being in her bathrobe! I was so worried she was going to get seen using the bathroom in the night! "We woke the children up at 7AM and told them we had a surprise. Their response was so beautiful, I loved seeing them react to her being there." The Halfacrees hope to return to the UK in December for what will be the first Christmas they've spent with their British family in 14 years.
