A Hornchurch man has traced his family tree back to the 18th century.

Barry Strange from Wingletye Lane, Hornchurch says that he now has a better understanding of where he comes from after finding more than 1,200 relatives.

He said: “It is a very enjoyable experience.

“I feel that I know where I come from and it is really interesting finding out about all these people who you have never met.”

Barry started the tree five years ago because he wanted to find out about his ancestors.

The 70-year-old compiled the tree with the help of his daugther Sharon Joslin, 42.

It saw the pair spending hours going through online records and visiting cemetries in London.

Barry said: “There were no real surprises but because my grandmother’s name was De Rose we expected to find some foreign relations, but everyone of our direct descendants came from the East End of London with the exception of one side of my mum’s family who we traced back to Cork in Ireland.”

Barry is hoping to trace his family’s roots back even further.