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Maidstone man Jamie Duffy traces parents in special episode of Long Lost Family: Born Without Trace

"Somewhere in this vicinity, my birth mother felt she had no choice but to abandon me," said Maidstone man Jamie Duffy as he tried to hold back tears stood near the spot he was abandoned 30 years ago.

The heartbreaking story of how the father-of-two was left outside a Portsmouth hospital as a newborn wrapped in a towel and carrier bag hit the headlines 1988.

Despite an appeal to find his birth mother, the closest anyone got to her was a fleeting call to a police hotline by a distressed woman claiming to be his mum.

Jamie Duffy was able to trace his parents through the programme
Jamie Duffy was able to trace his parents through the programme

Jamie still has a recording of the call.

Last night a renewed mission to track down his mother was broadcast on a special episode of Long Lost Family: Born Without Trace.

Extraordinarily, thanks to the efforts of specialist DNA detectives Jamie was able to discover not only the identity of his mother but his father too.

"Everything is still sinking in really slowly. I went into this hoping that I’d find my mum, not expecting to find my mum and my dad," he said. "It’s just mind-blowing and amazing. We don’t know how well she’s coped with it.

Jamie Duffy aged 5 months
Jamie Duffy aged 5 months

"I want to be able to forgive her and tell her that it’s alright. I’ve turned out to have a wonderful family of my own and the life that I have had has been wonderful.

"I would love to meet both of them and... talk. There is a possibility my mum won't want contact but I really hope that she does."

His adoptive parents revealed his past time him at age 14 and he has since spent his life hoping for answers to why he had been left.

Hosts Nicky Campbell and Davina McCall
Hosts Nicky Campbell and Davina McCall

With the aid of the Long Lost Family Team, Jamie was also able to meet Marie, the woman who found him outside the hospital when she was just an 11-year-old girl.

The special 90-minute episode is still available to view online on the ITV Hub. The documentary also features two other foundlings - Karen Waterton, a woman left at five days old in a cardboard box in Manchester, and Alley Lofthouse, abandoned on a doorstep in Scotland.

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