Gloucestershire, UK - A man who was abandoned as a baby broke down and cried when he was told that his birth mother had a touching tattoo tribute to him inked on her arm.

While appearing on the UK show Long Lost Family at the age of 55, Martin finally found out about the identity of his mother, who had abandoned him as a child.

Martin's long-lost brother Mark, who is 44, originally approached the show as a way to search for his sibling after their mother had died at the age of 73.

During the program, it was revealed that – despite her decision to abandon Martin – his mother Diane had slept with a photo of him as a baby by her bedside throughout her entire life.

When told about a tattoo tribute to his baby self that Diane had on her arm, Martin broke down and cried, overcome with the moment.

It turned out that Diane had never wanted to give Martin up for adoption, but she had been 19 when he was born and her father forced her to let him go.

"I was always intrigued by this photo – this one was beside her bed," Mark was cited as saying by PEOPLE Magazine. "She had it tattooed on her arm... He looks like" such a happy little chappy."

"Somehow, I knew it wasn't me," he explained. "I would ask my mum 'Who's that?' you know, and she was very vague."

"Eventually, she said, 'That's your brother, yeah. He got taken away,'" Mark explained.

When told about the tattoo by the show's host, Martin said through a stream of tears that "at least she wasn't averse to tats. They're not everybody's cup of tea."