A baby girl abandoned by her mother in a phone box years back was reunited with her rescuer 22 years later. Kiran Sheikh was just two hours old when her frightened mother who was in an abusive relationship left her in the middle of the night.
Her mother had called the Samaritans from the box but before they could arrive the newborn was found by Joel Campbell, who initially mistook her for a thrown bags of chips.
Joel called the police and Kiran was taken to Newham General Hospital , where she was given the name ‘April’ after the month in which she was born, as well as Joel’s surname.
But she was then adopted by another family who then went on to rename her and it was only when she was eight she was told the truth about her coming into the world.
Two decades later wanting to meet up with the man who found her she made an appeal and Mr Campbell saw the story and came forward.
Today after the pair met for the first time in central London, 22-year-old Kiran said: “I am so overwhelmed, this is unbelievable.
“I’ve been waiting 15 years to meet him and he’s finally here.
“He was the second person to hold me after my mother, it’s incredible.”
Joel was shown Kiran’s appeal for the man who had saved her by a colleague at work for delivery firm DPD, who immediately recognised his good deed 20 years earlier.
He had kept photos and clippings about Kiran from the time he found her in Forest Gate, East London, hoping he would one day see her again.
He said: “This is a beautiful, beautiful day.
“I am so glad she has got in touch after all this time, I have never forgotten her.
“I can’t believe she found me.”
Joel, now 52, had gone to the phone box, near where he lived, to call his parents in Guyana, as they had a five-hour time difference.
He initially thought the vulnerable baby girl was discarded chip wrapper - not realising the new life swaddled inside them.
He said: “As I was walking towards the phone box, I could see what looked like chip wrappers on the floor - it annoyed me that people couldn’t pick up their mess.
“But just before I got to the door, I realised there was a tiny life form wrapped inside.
“She was an innocent, sweet little thing, just laying there gargling.
“As far as I can see, I did what anyone else would have done.”
Joel tried to stay in touch with Kiran, as she was named by her adoptive parents, by taking cards, money and gifts to social services .
He even asked if he could adopt the baby, but was told no as he wasn’t married at the time.
He continued for seven years, until social workers told him to stop - but Kiran says she never received his gifts, and was given no information about Joel.
She added: “I don’t know why they didn’t tell me about him.
“All I received were photocopies of the outsides of the cards he sent, not even what he’d written inside.
“I cannot believe they didn’t put anything on my file about him.
“They really could have done something - people don’t do what he did, not like that.”
Her mother had called the Samaritans from the box but before they could arrive the newborn was found by Joel Campbell, who initially mistook her for a thrown bags of chips.
Joel called the police and Kiran was taken to Newham General Hospital , where she was given the name ‘April’ after the month in which she was born, as well as Joel’s surname.
But she was then adopted by another family who then went on to rename her and it was only when she was eight she was told the truth about her coming into the world.
Two decades later wanting to meet up with the man who found her she made an appeal and Mr Campbell saw the story and came forward.
Today after the pair met for the first time in central London, 22-year-old Kiran said: “I am so overwhelmed, this is unbelievable.
“I’ve been waiting 15 years to meet him and he’s finally here.
“He was the second person to hold me after my mother, it’s incredible.”
Joel was shown Kiran’s appeal for the man who had saved her by a colleague at work for delivery firm DPD, who immediately recognised his good deed 20 years earlier.
He had kept photos and clippings about Kiran from the time he found her in Forest Gate, East London, hoping he would one day see her again.
He said: “This is a beautiful, beautiful day.
“I am so glad she has got in touch after all this time, I have never forgotten her.
“I can’t believe she found me.”
Joel, now 52, had gone to the phone box, near where he lived, to call his parents in Guyana, as they had a five-hour time difference.
He initially thought the vulnerable baby girl was discarded chip wrapper - not realising the new life swaddled inside them.
He said: “As I was walking towards the phone box, I could see what looked like chip wrappers on the floor - it annoyed me that people couldn’t pick up their mess.
“But just before I got to the door, I realised there was a tiny life form wrapped inside.
“She was an innocent, sweet little thing, just laying there gargling.
“As far as I can see, I did what anyone else would have done.”
Joel tried to stay in touch with Kiran, as she was named by her adoptive parents, by taking cards, money and gifts to social services .
He even asked if he could adopt the baby, but was told no as he wasn’t married at the time.
He continued for seven years, until social workers told him to stop - but Kiran says she never received his gifts, and was given no information about Joel.
She added: “I don’t know why they didn’t tell me about him.
“All I received were photocopies of the outsides of the cards he sent, not even what he’d written inside.
“I cannot believe they didn’t put anything on my file about him.
“They really could have done something - people don’t do what he did, not like that.”
Emotional moment a woman abandoned as baby meets the man who rescued her years back
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