This is the heartwarming moment a 94-year-old woman is reunited with her son whom she had not seen since he was illegally taken away and adopted when he was seven years old.

Her son, now 72, had travelled with his mum, Ms Zhu, to join his father who had left to go to Jingdezhen, in Jiangxi, China, for work together some 65 years ago.

Mrs Zhu was travelling with her husband's two sisters but the boat quickly became full, and she was forced to wait behind while her two sisters-in-law and son continued to meet her husband.

On the trip, the two lost their luggage, and when they arrived penniless from the boat, were forced to take refuge in a homeless shelter so that they could work and earn money to continue the journey and buy food.

The two women left the boy in a nursery set up by the people at the shelter, but say that when they went to collect him he had been handed over to a couple that had adopted him.

That was 65 years ago, and Mrs Zhu never gave up hope of finding him. Thanks to the efforts of a campaigning police officer who decided to investigate when he heard her story, that dream has now come true.

She was finally reunited with her son 65 years after they last saw each other.

The old man had to be helped to walk to his mother and the two were overcome with emotion as they embraced for the first time in more than six decades on June 25.