Family Album: Sarah Daniels with her fiance Roy Cook and their son Danny. The family were finally reunited after Sarah tracked Roy down via the electoral register to ask for a DNA test to check Daniel's paternity

When Roy Cook answered a knock at the door, he was astonished to be confronted by the girlfriend who dumped him more than two decades ago.

What followed was even more unexpected.

Sarah Daniels, 42, revealed she had a son she thought might be his and asked if he would give a DNA sample.

Moments later, she had taken a swab from the inside of his cheek using a kit she had brought with her – changing both their lives for ever.

Within days Mr Cook discovered he was the father of 23-year-old Danny, and shortly afterwards he and his former lover rekindled their relationship.

They are now living together and plan to marry next year.

‘I had always held a torch for Sarah and was thrilled when I opened the door to see her standing there,’ said Mr Cook, 47, a sales manager.

‘That we are now back together and planning our wedding feels incredible.’

His future wife added: ‘When the DNA test came back positive I felt like I’d been hit by a train and I was also incredibly sad for Danny for all the years he’d missed out on not knowing his real dad.

‘Now that we’re all living together as a family and Roy and I are getting married, it feels like a fairy tale come true.’

The couple from Chelmsford, Essex, met in 1985 and had an eight-month relationship which ended because Sarah, then only 17, did not want to settle down.

Shortly afterwards, she began another relationship and subsequently found out she was pregnant.

A scan suggested she was at the three-month stage, so she presumed the baby was her current boyfriend’s child.

She split from him not long after Danny’s birth and went on to marry someone else and have another son, now 20.

In the meantime, Mr Cook had also married and had three sons and a daughter, now aged between 14 and 21.

But both had separated from their spouses when they were reunited on Mr Cook’s doorstep after his ex-girlfriend traced him using the electoral roll.

She said: ‘The man I thought was Danny’s biological father had nothing to do with him following our split.’

Lost years: Sarah with Danny when he was two. Two decades later, the family are reunited

That changed four years ago when he announced he wanted to forge a relationship with his son.

She soon realised there were no physical similarities between the two, triggering memories of her teenage romance.

‘I kept my fears inside for months, mainly because I was terrified I was about to create disruption,’ she said.

But in January this year, she turned up at Mr Cook’s house.

‘I had no idea whether he’d even remember me, let alone what his reaction would be.

‘But I knew as soon as I saw him again that he was definitely ­Danny’s father. The likeness between them is unmistakeable.’

A little over a week later, a letter from International Biosciences, the firm which provided the home test kit, confirmed Mr Cook was Danny’s father.

‘I burst into tears straight away,’ said Mrs Daniels. ‘Even though I’d had strong suspicions, it is incredibly emotional to see your life as you know it change for ever.’

Mr Cook added: ‘Hearing the news was a gut-wrenching, heart-thumping moment. I was happy but also completely overwhelmed. I felt sad for Danny because of all the time we’ve lost and concerned for my other children about the upheaval it would cause them.’
Two weeks later Danny, who is training to be a teacher, was introduced to his father.

Danny said: ‘I was incredibly nervous. But after five minutes of being in Roy’s company, it felt like I’d known him for ever.

‘It was incredibly emotional and we were all in tears. I now call Roy "Dad” and I feel like he’s always been in my life.

‘Having not had a biological father, it’s wonderful to have one who loves me and will be in my life for ever.’

Within weeks of the DNA test, his parents realised their romance was blossoming again.

‘I proposed in April and we are set to marry next year,’ said Mr Cook.

‘Sarah and I are head over heels in love and I’m so proud of my son and the way Sarah has brought him up. I feel like the luckiest man alive.’

By Natasha Courtenay-Smith

Source: dailymail.co.uk