London - A British taxi driver was shocked to discover his passenger was his long-lost son, whom he had last seen since he was five. Mr Barry Bagshaw (61) said: "I was just utterly dumbfounded. I didn't recognise him at first but when I did it was fantastic" The chance meeting took place in Peacehaven, in southern England.
His son Colin (39), who was about to leave the area for a job in London, had thought his father was dead. In fact, the pair had been living just streets apart. Barry lost touch with his children when his marriage broke down while he was in the British army, stationed in Hong Kong. It was the second chance encounter that changed the taxi driver's life. Two years ago, he got to know a passenger who was travelling back to her home in France because her mother was seriously ill. The pair hit it off and eventually married.