Do you know Reeni? Lovelorn pensioner hands out 10,000 fliers to find a girl he danced with in the 1950s

• Herbert Riley fell head over heels with Reeni as a 24-year-old
• The pair would dance together at a hall in Salford for four years
• After they rowed one day, Reeni left Manchester and married another man
• Mr Riley married Margaret in 1959 but she died of leukaemia aged 34
• He spotted Reeni working in a bakers in Manchester in the 1980s
• But he could not pluck up the courage to go and speak to her
• He has printed 10,000 leaflets at a cost of £200 to track down his love
• The 83-year-old said he wants to leave his life savings to her
  

By Lizzie Parry

Published: 09:50 EDT, 31 March 2014 | Updated: 12:45 EDT, 31 March 2014

A lovelorn pensioner armed with a pedal bike and 10,000 leaflets has launched a desperate bid to find his true love, 55 years after they met at a dance hall.

Herbert Riley, 83, fell head over heels in love with Reeni as a 24-year-old in Stockport.

Today the pensioner, who now lives in Longsight, Manchester, is calling for help to make one last ditch attempt to track down Reeni, so he can leave his lifetime savings to her before he dies.

Lovelorn Herbert Riley fell in love with Reeni as a 24-year-old at a dance hall in Salford, Greater Manchester. But after the couple rowed one day, Reeni left for Scotland where she met and married another man

Mr Riley has spent £200 printing 10,000 leaflets in his bid to track down Reeni, who he last spotted working in the bakers Hobson's Choice in the 1980s

The pair danced together several times a week but after a four-year relationship, Reeni left Herbert to marry another man she had only known for a few weeks.

The former engineer revealed he went three decades without seeing his true love, before spotting her while she worked in a bakery in the 1980s.

But the pensioner struggled to pluck up the courage to speak to her before moving to work in Birmingham a short while later.

And he has now printed 10,000 leaflets to track down his mystery woman, and is calling for anyone with help to get in touch.

Mr Riley said: 'We were together for four years and I genuinely thought we would be together forever.

Mission: Armed with just his push bike, Mr Riley is determined to track down Reeni, who he met in the 1950s

'She was an incredible dancer. We'd go four or five times a week at the local ballroom hall and I enjoyed every minute.

'But one day we had a row and she went up to Scotland with a friend where she met someone else and just like that our relationship came to an end.

'At some point during the 1980s I actually saw her working Hobson's Choice bakery in Reddish but she was always very busy so I didn't talk to her.

'Not too long after I was made redundant and had to go to work in Birmingham for a year but when I returned to Manchester the bakery had closed down and I thought that I'd missed my chance.'

After the relationship, Herbert tied the knot with another love, Margaret, in 1959.

But Mrs Riley tragically died of leukaemia four years later at the age of 34.

Childless Mr Riley has not fallen in love since and despite not remembering her surname, he was determined to track down Reeni, who he described as 'the woman he never forgot'.

He added: 'I paid a friend £200 to make the leaflets and distribute them around Reddish so I could track her down.

'I've had quite a few calls already but sadly none of them are genuine so I'm just hoping people see the posters and find Reeni for me.

'Looking back, I should have taken my chance when I saw her all those years ago but hopefully by doing this I'll get a second chance before I die.'

Do you know Reeni? Email editorial[at]dailymail.co.uk

Last sighting: Mr Riley last set eyes on Reeni at Hobson's Choice in Reddish, Manchester where she worked in the 1980s. But he said he could not build up the courage to speak to her and missed his chance to be reunited with her