Two long lost friends were reunited in Abbots Langley last week and are demonstrating the positives of using social media networking. 

The last time best friends Jenny Scott and Michele Benson saw each other was 45 years ago when they were both pupils at Bushey Grammar School in the 1960s.

The two were best friends and spent every weekend together living at each other's houses. 

But when Mrs Scott was 15, Mrs Benson moved away with her family to South Africa because of work commitments and the pair lost contact. 

Now 60, Mrs Scott, who lives in The Fairway, Abbots Langley, said: "I was absolutely devastated when she left as we spent so much time together. We just lost touch, there was no easy way to keep in contact. Another reason we lost contact was because her husband's job took them all over the world, to Botswana, Colombia, USA and Australia."

A year ago, Mrs Scott received a message from Mrs Benson on Facebook.

Mrs Scott said: "She looked me up on Facebook - I couldn't find her because her name had changed. We started chatting and a year on we decided to meet up. She let me know she was coming over as she still has family in England."

The two met for a meal at Hunton Bridge Lodge in Abbots Langley, along with their husbands, on Thursday, December 11. 

Mrs Scott said: "It was absolutely wonderful. We all got on fabulously, and she said we must go and stay with her in South Africa. I recognised her straight away in the restaurant and we both jumped up and hugged each other."

Mrs Scott went on to explain how without Facebook the two would never have found eachother again.

She said: "This is an example of when Facebook works. I've had problems with Facebook in the past, but I stayed on. This is when it works - I would have never been able to get back in contact with Michele if it wasn't for this."