Emotional moment man, 57, is reunited with his birth mother, 77, who left him in a pram on her neighbours’ doorstep at three months old to be raised by the couple because she was ‘desperate’ and living in a one-room ‘hovel’
- John Hacking, a quarry worker from Buxton, was reunited with his birth mother
- Appeared on the ITV programme trying to find the woman who left him as a baby
- He was found by his adoptive parents outside their flat in the rain 57 years ago
Long Lost Family viewers were left in tears after a man was reunited with his birth mother who left him on her neighbour’s doorstep because she felt she couldn’t care for him.
John Hacking, 57, a quarry worker from Buxton, Derbyshire, appeared on the ITV programme to find his birth mother after being raised by the couple who found him in a pram outside their flat in the pouring rain.
His birth mother Maureen, 77, explained she had left her infant son with her neighbours, who she had made godparents, because she was ‘desperate’ and living in a ‘disgusting’ one-bedroom hovel.
After years of searching, John finally came face-to-face with his mother on last night’s episode, with the pair immediately walking up and wrapping their arms around each other.
Maureen said: ‘I’ve never forgotten you, darling, never. I didn’t want to hand you over, but it was a matter of having to.’ She added: ‘I’ve got a son. That’s the most important thing in my life. I’ve got everything to live for now.’
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Long Lost Family viewers left in tears after a man was reunited with his birth mother, who left him in a pram at three-months-old because she was ‘desperate and lived in a disgusting hovel’
The pair (pictured) were reunited in a pub near Maureen’s home in November, with the emotional scenes showing the duo hugging one another
Viewers were quick to react to the touching moment, with one writing: ‘That’s me crying, cheers!’
Viewers were quick to react to the touching moment, with one writing: ‘That’s me crying, cheers!’
Another said: ‘I feel so sorry for John’s Mom. She must have been so heavy hearted all her life. To ask for forgiveness, but how wonderful they have found each other. And yes, I’m crying.’
A third added: ‘So lovely they have found each other. In tears.’ A fourth wrote: ‘”I’ve got everything to live for now.” oh this lady is so sweet. Pleased that they could both meet.’
John was taken in by his adoptive parents after they found him outside their flat in the rain.
Co-host Nicky Campbell asked Maureen if she really left her son in a pram, to which she admitted she did – but insisted she never abandoned him.
She recalled how she’d made her neighbours, John’s adoptive parents, godparents to her son, and alleged that they told her that they would look after her son if a time came when she felt she couldn’t.
John (pictured as a child) was discovered by his adoptive parents outside their flat in the rain before growing up in a farmhouse in rural Derbyshire
After the emotional reunion, people were quick to take to Twitter as many said they felt sorry for John’s mother Maureen
‘I was living in this room. It was just a little square and it was a hovel,’ she explained. ‘It was disgusting, that place. And I was desperate.’
Having had a bad experience growing up in care and fearing the authorities would take her son away, Maureen decided to give her baby away to her neighbours.
She said: ‘I knew if the authorities came, they only had to look at the place I was living in [and] they would have took him.
‘And I wasn’t having that because then he would have been stuck in a home. And there’s one thing that I didn’t want, him going into a home.’
But instead of ringing the bell to hand him over, she claimed she fled the scene as she found it ‘too emotional’.
John was raised in a farmhouse in rural Derbyshire.
Sadly his adoptive mother died when he was young and he grew up with his adoptive grandmother largely looking after him.
In emotional scenes, John was finally reunited with his birth mother Maureen, who revealed how she felt forced to leave her son on the doorstep of his adoptive parents’ home
Sadly John’s (pictured) adoptive mother died when he was young and he grew up with his adoptive grandmother largely looking after him – but always longed to discover his birth parent after being told he was adopted at age 13
Having had a bad experience growing up in care and fearing the authorities would take her son away, Maureen (pictured) decided to give her baby away to her neighbours
John spent decades trying to track down his birth mother, using phone books and libraries, after being told her name was Maureen Clifford before she disappeared without a trace.
The Long Lost Family team eventually found Maureen, now Mrs Jobson, living in Sheerness, Kent.
Maureen has recently been widowed, is twice-married and never had another child, believing it to be punishment for giving John up.
She was reunited with her son in a pub near her home in November, with the emotional scenes showing the duo hugging one another.
Speaking about being reunited with her son, Maureen said: ‘I have been looking forward to something like this for such a long time. I always imagined I would open the door and there would be a young man standing there and saying, “Do you know who I am?”‘
In tearful scenes, John said: ‘It’s a weight off my shoulders, all these years of trying to find my mother and it’s finally happened. I feel my life is complete now. A lot of people think I am a lot calmer, more relaxed and more happy now too. Dreams do come true.’
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