There were tears of joy at an emotional reunion between a 92-year-old ex-soldier and his daughter after nearly three months of lockdown at the care home Swansea Valley where he lives.

Until then Stanley Crawley, originally from Resolven, who has Parkinson’s Disease, had only seen his daughter, Susan Clement, fleetingly through the windows at the Cwm Cartref Care Home in Commercial Road, Pontardawe.

Staff at Cwm Cartref, part of the Caron Group which has 14 care home across South and Mid-Wales, have created a novel outdoor visiting area in the garden so residents can finally meet their loved ones face to face after being wrenched apart for so long because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

As some residents are hard of hearing, the gazebo has been rigged with microphones and headphones so they easily hear each other while keeping socially distant.

Former factory foreman Stanley was overwhelmed with emotion when he finally got to speak to daughter Susan, a former manager at the DVLA in Swansea.

Mr Crawley suffers from progressive supranuclear palsy, which is a form of Parkinson’s disease, which means he struggles to walk and has difficulty with his speech.

Previously, the only contact Susan had was waving at her dad through windows when she dropped of treats at the front door.

She said: “”It’s not the same as seeing him in person and having a conversation.

“Luckily, Dad never lost his sense of humour and fortunately there is no signs of dementia or loss of capacity so he was able to understand the whole Covid-19 situation and why we had to go into lock-down.

"But that didn’t make it easier.

“It was wonderful seeing him in the garden, he had a tear in his eye.”

The initiative by the Caron Group has been welcomed by Care Forum Wales which represents nearly 500 independent social care providers.

Chair Mario Kreft MBE said: “The set up at Cwm Cartref and the other Caron Group homes is obviously working very well and has led to some very touching occasions like the reunion between Susan and her father.”