THE family of a teenage girl who ran away with a 31-year-old man today told of their emotional reunion.

Parents Tim and Deborah Watkins said they were relieved Gemma, 16, was back home - as David Davies (pictured), the man she ran away with, protested the pair had never meant to cause anyone distress.

He said: "We were talking and I said I was going to Barry to find a job. And she said she wanted to come with me, I didn't force her."

Gemma vanished on June 21 with Mr Davies, whom she had known for two years. She returned home on Monday after police and her family tracked her down to Barry. Last week the Argus exclusively revealed how Gemma's parents were issuing a heartfelt plea for their daughter to contact them.

The report prompted a number of people to contact police, including one woman who said she had given Gemma and Mr Davies a lift to the Porthkerry area of Barry. Gemma was then tracked down by police in the town, where she was camping with Mr Davies.

The teenager, who has just completed her GCSE exams, told officers she did not want to go home.

But on Monday night Mr and Mrs Watkins and other family members went to the seaside town to find her - and the Pontllanfraith Comprehensive School pupil agreed to go home.

"We are relieved to see she is all right," said Mr Watkins. "There were no arguments - we were just glad to see her. I told her we only want the best for her."

Gemma had been living with her great-grandmother in Gelli Lane, Pontllanfraith, when she went missing.

Now she is back at home with her parents in Bryngoleu Terrace, Pontllanfraith, and is planning to go to college in September.

Today Mr Davies, of Twyn Gardens, in Cefn Forest, near Blackwood, said: "I was living in Cwmbran and needed to get away and find a job.

"I have known Gemma for about two years as she was friends with my nephew and niece and we have kept in touch."

The father-of-two added: "When we got to Barry, I offered her money to go back home but she wanted to stay.

"We didn't think anyone would have been worried." The police caught up with the couple when Mr Davies went to collect his benefits at Barry Post Office.

"The police took Gemma to Barry police station and I followed when I got my benefits," he said.

"At first Gemma did not want to go home, then, for some reason, she changed her mind. And her mum came to pick us up on Monday evening."