Express & Star

Long Lost Family: Answers at last for man dumped as a baby near Molineux over 30 years ago

It was a mystery that had always plagued Steven Patrick ever since he was abandoned as a baby in Wolverhampton city centre.

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Steven at Molineux.

But after more than 30 years of wondering how and why he came to be left outside the Civic Centre car park, he has finally been given some answers about where he came from.

The 32-year-old appeared on the ITV show Long Lost Family on Wednesday night and was visibly emotional as he was introduced to his birth father for the first time, and received a letter from his birth mother.

She had left him as a newborn in public toilets near the Civic Centre and across the ring road from Molineux.

Steven has featured in the Express & Star over the years in his search for answers but it had appeared he would be left wondering forever until he decided to contact Long Lost Family, which has reunited countless separated families.

E&S coverage of Steven's discovery.

After being discovered, the foundling was adopted and brought up in a loving home in Stoke-on-Trent but he never stopped wondering about his roots or the reasons why he was left alone that morning in March 1989.

Back then, a certain star striker was ripping up the record books at Molineux. Steve Bull was the darling of Wolverhampton as he spearheaded the club's rise from the doldrums and so, as the baby was found close to Molineux, it was decided he would be named after Bully.

E&S coverage of Steven's discovery.

The legend himself even appeared in the ITV show, sending Steven a recorded good luck message on his quest to find his birth family.

Steven visited Molineux for the show and said, despite growing up 30 miles up the M6, the ground felt like home to him.

E&S coverage of Steven's discovery.

"The first few hours of my life were here," he said. "To some extent it's home.

"I was just a baby who was found. My history before is 100 per cent unknown."

During the show he was told how through DNA studies both his birth mother and father had been traced.

Steven Patrick in 2013.

His father, Rob, hailed from the Black Country but now lives in South Wales with his family. There was an emotional meeting as Rob explained he never knew he had a son or that he had been abandoned as a baby.

He hinted at a troubled past but said he was now a different person to the young man he was in the late 1980s as Steven was also introduced to his half-sister, who was delighted to meet him.

Rob apologised for not being there as Steven was growing up and thanked his adoptive parents for doing such a good job in raising him. There was a touching moment as the birth father said Steven would always be welcome in South Wales. It also emerged that they both shared a passion for art.

Steven said: "He said he was sorry for what had happened and he understood it was difficult. It meant a lot to me.

"Meeting Rob and discovering siblings is a huge bonus in all of this."

Steven meets birth father Rob.

He added: "I feel really happy. Hopefully, we might be able to build some form of relationship going forward and start to build more on my identity."

While there was no meeting with his birth mother, who was not named, Steven was shown a picture of her and she did send a letter attempting to explain some of the reasons she decided to leave him alone in the toilets that day.

He reads a letter from his birth mother.

She explained how it was a very distressing period in her life and that the circumstances "were not nice" but shared how she had never stopped loving her son and had lit a candle every year on his birthday.

She also kept pictures from an article on Steven and sought him out on Facebook.

His birth mother signed off, saying: "You look so happy with your proper family and I'm glad of that and I'm sorry for did what I did. Be happy always. I'll always love you."

Steven on the show.

Despite having not yet met his birth mother, Steven said he was content at having finally found answers about where he came from.

He said: "Even this is enough to... I can put it to rest.

"This is more than I could have hoped for."

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