Emotional clip shows moment man abandoned as baby in plastic bag meets his birth family

Get the tissues at the ready as a clip showing the moment a man abandoned as a baby met his biological family for the first time has gone viral.

Jon Scarlett-Phillips, 40, was found in the toilet of a leisure centre car park near Milton Keynes, UK, back in September 1984.

Wrapped in a blanket and placed in a shopping bag with his placenta still attached, Jon had been abandoned by his birth mother.

It was three teenage girls who found Jon, who were able to call an ambulance and get the baby all the medical support he required.

Jon told his remarkable story on ITV's Long Lost Family: Born Without a Trace in the hope of finding his birth mother.

He told the programme: "I was found by three girls. Finding something like that at that age is absolutely crazy. I'm grateful, very grateful that they heard me and found me. They're the ones that saved my life."

Jon was abandoned as a baby (ITV)

Thankfully, Jon had an extremely happy upbringing after being adopted by John and Marilyn, while he also grew up with big sister Debbie.

Nonetheless, a big void had continued to impact Jon's life.

"I didn't want to search for a very long time," the chef, now based in Wiltshire, said. "The question is still there: Why did she do it?"

After Jon 'went off the rails' following a terrible accident that saw his adopted mom suffer brain damage, he vowed to never touch drugs again after a near overdose at the age of 18.

And it was his wife Becky that Jon credits for saving him, while the chef's spouse also gave Jon encouragement to seek answers about his past.

Jon credits his wife Becky for getting him through (ITV)

After a lengthy search, The Long Lost Family team discovered Jon's birth mother was still alive and that she was 20 when she had him.

They also discovered she had two young daughters when she fell pregnant with Jon.

"I suspect she surprisingly found herself pregnant with Jon, and I think she couldn't cope. When she left him, she was mentally in a very bad place," said Long Lost Family's Ariel Bruce.

At the time of recording, Jon's birth mother was not ready to meet him just yet, but his two-half sisters wanted to meet him as soon as possible.

An extremely emotional clip shows the moment Jon met his siblings for the first time, with their identities hidden to protect their mother's identity.

The tear-jerking moment saw the siblings instantly connect as they caught up on what had been so much lost time.

And while Jon's birth mother was not present, the sisters did have a message from her they showed to Jon.

It read: "Hi, I've sent this message to the girls so they can let you know the reasons why I'm not with them today.

"Unfortunately, I feel unable, both physically and mentally, to come today following a long period of illness."

"It's not a no Jon, it's just time," one of the sisters said as it was read aloud, while Jon told the programme: "I feel a lot lighter. I feel a bit more full, as well. That emptiness has disappeared completely now. I'm a happy man."