Two young lovers who split when the man was sent to fight in the Falklands are back together after 35 years - because he had a bizarre dream about his ex and got back in touch.

Teacher Louise Tennant and squaddie Dave Evans parted ways in 1982 after dating for a year.

Louise, now 56, was stunned when her first love messaged her out of the blue on Facebook .

The previous night Dave, now 61, had dreamed about his former flame wearing a nurse's uniform while feeding wild monkeys in Gibraltar - the island where they first met while she was on holiday.

They lost touch after Dave was sent to fight, and went on to meet others and have children.

More than three decades later the couple are back together after an unusual dream prompted Dave to get back in touch (
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SWNS.com)
Louise, 56, and Dave, 61, now enjoy exotic holidays together (
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SWNS.com)

But Dave decided to get in touch after looking Louise up on Facebook - and less than a minute later they were reminiscing about their first dates.

A year on, Louise, who is from Coventry, and Dave, from the Isle of Man, are a couple.

Dave said: "I just had this dream about her and wondered how she was doing, so I had a look on Facebook.

"In the dream we were in Gibraltar and she was wearing a white nurse's uniform with a red cross, and we were feeding the wild monkeys.

It took 35 years for the couple to get back in contact, and both say things are going well (
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SWNS.com)
Louise and Dave are an item again after the former soldier contacted her on Facebook (
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SWNS.com)

"I sent her a message and 40 seconds later she messaged me back. The rest is history."

Louise added: "It's strange when you see someone after all that time - I don't think I'd have recognised him otherwise, but when we started talking it all seemed the same.

"We're just older and greyer, and hopefully wiser."

Louise was enjoying a week away with friends to celebrate the end of their nursing training when she met Dave in a nightclub.

Dave, then 25, was stationed on the island with the British Army and Louise, then 20, was charmed straight away.

The couple pictured together in the early 1980s (
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SWNS.com)
They were 20 and 25 when they first met, and their reunion has changed their lives more than three decades later (
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SWNS.com)

After dating for a year, the couple drifted apart Louise was daunted by Dave's transient lifestyle in the army.

When he was sent to the south Atlantic island to fight Argentine forces, they lost touch all together.

But in October 2016, Louise had logged onto Facebook and saw a message from her old flame.

"Dave said he was coming over to see family on the mainland, from the Isle of Man where he lives and he wanted to see me, but I thought 'oh my god,'" she said.

"He said 'come on, if it's not right we'll leave it.'"

Dave and Louise had last seen each other in the early 1980s before he contacted her out of the blue (
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SWNS.com)

Twice-divorced Dave, also a grandfather, came to visit - sleeping in the spare room - and a month later the pair had fallen in love.

Now both Louise and Dave have met each other's families - including some people who they both met decades before.

She added: "When we met I lived with my parents and six siblings - it was fairly chaotic. He used to come and visit and we'd go to the pub or go out for meals.

"When I introduced my dad to Dave, I told them they'd met each other before, but neither remembered.

"I'd never forgotten about Dave but I didn't fret over it either."

Despite living in different parts of the country, the loved-up couple see each other a couple of times a month and enjoy meeting up for exotic holidays.

"We speak on the phone every single day and send messages when we're apart," said Louise, who had been single for two decades before she re-met Dave.

"I never thought I would love another man again and I was quite happily resigned to it. But he's given me true love and happiness. It has changed my life."

Dave added: "She's still the same - I tease her for being posh. She's got a teacher voice and she can be a bit stern, and I tell her 'you're not in the classroom now.'

"We're having a great time together."