Karl Bushby ends 28-year journey at mother’s house in Hull

As they had agreed years earlier, Bushby’s mother, Angela, waited for him at her home in Sutton Park, where she raised him.

He appeared almost lost for words..

He said: “It feels surreal. It’s the end of a 28-year journey.”

His mother, who had not seen him for a decade, said: “It’s good to have him home.”

As he approached the house, he said: “This is familiar.”

But he admitted he never expected such a homecoming.

Addressing the crowd in the city centre, Bushby, when he was received by the lord mayor, Maria Coward, said: “There has never been a welcome home like this, I am sure. It’s madness. An enormous thank you.”

He added: “The biggest team – Earth – got me back here.”

On Sunday, when he crossed the Humber Bridge into East Yorkshire, he was met by his 36-year-old son Adam, his 12-year-old granddaughter whom he had never met, his father and brothers.

“It was amazing,” Bushby said of the reunion.