Internet search bridges 60-year breach between mother and son

That was the last she saw of him – until this week when they enjoyed an emotional reunion.

Danny never returned – as his father took him to Scotland to start a new life

Following internet appeals for information, Mrs Parrish, now 81, has finally caught up with her 62-year-old son. Despite the intervening decades, she says she never forgot him.

Danny's father James McPhail married Mrs Parrish in Scotland in 1947 but he failed to settle when they moved south of the border and walked out with his son to return home.

Mrs Parrish was pregnant with their daughter Heather at the time and remained in Wigan, later moving to Langold to be near her own mother. She later remarried and had a new family.

As a teenager, her daughter Heather wrote to her brother but got a reply saying he and their dad wanted nothing to do with them.

Danny who now lives in Edinburgh, was told his mother had abandoned him as a baby, only recently learning the truth.

The family was brought back together after a friend encouraged another of Olive's daughters, Carole White, to post a message online which reached Danny.

Relatives are now planning a reunion party.