A HEARTBROKEN father last night spoke of his “magic memories” following the tragic death of his long-lost son.

Just five years after they were reunited, Charlie Mulford’s life has been torn apart by the loss of his 33-year-old son Danny Mulford.

The devoted dad from Dibden suffered fatal injuries in an early morning crash on the A31 on Saturday.

Electrician Danny, who worked in Ringwood, was walking back to his father’s home in St Leonards when tragedy struck on the westbound underpass at nearby Ashley Heath.

Fighting back tears, Charlie, 58, (below) said: “My son had been celebrating his boss’s birthday. It looks like he was taking a short cut when the accident happened.

Daily Echo:

“He was probably too proud to accept a lift and wouldn’t have wanted to pay for a taxi because his life revolved around his children and he would have seen that as a waste of money.

“We had been estranged for more than 20 years but had rekindled our relationship after my daughter Tracy tracked me down. We met up at a local pub and hit the ground running; we were determined to make up for lost time. It was a very emotional moment.”

Mum-of-two Tracy, who lives in Ringwood, said: “I tracked dad down on Facebook and asked Danny if he wanted to meet up with him. We put the past behind us and decided to focus on the future.”

Struggling to contain her grief, she said: “Everybody loved Danny; he had a very big heart. He and his wife Zara were childhood sweethearts; she was just 14 when they got together and Danny was devoted to their son Bradley and daughter Caitlin. Zara is being incredibly strong for the children’s sake.”

Danny’s brother Dayne said: “He was his happiest when he was making everybody else happy; he was everybody’s friend.”

The family are being comforted by Danny’s adoptive dad Jeff Moore, from Hythe.

He said: “Danny lived with us for a couple of years and we were very close. He was the life and soul of the party; the boy who couldn’t say ‘no.’ His funeral will be a very big send-off.”

Danny’s grief-stricken family opened their hearts to the Daily Echo after the A31 was closed briefly yesterday afternoon so they could lay flowers at the scene of his death.