Author Mark has turned life around

12:57pm Thursday 10th April 2008

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SEXUALLY abused as a youngster, a former heroin and crack addict and the victim of violent abuse at home - you could say Mark Johnson had the odds stacked against him from an early age.

Growing up in Kidderminster, he first got drunk at eight, was taking heroin at 11 and his mother had attempted suicide by the time he was just 13.

After spells in borstal, he became hooked on drugs and ended up living on London's streets. But he turned his life around after meeting an old friend working for Turning Point, who persuaded him to go to a detox centre.

Now, Mr Johnson, 37, advises the Prince's Trust and the Government, as a National Probation Service board member, on rehabilitation of young offenders and has just sold his successful tree surgeon business, where he employed former offenders and drug addicts.

His autobiography, Wasted, recently published in paperback, has turned him into a best-selling author and he has just sold the script rights for an undisclosed sum.

Mr Johnson believes there needs to be a step-change in the way young offenders are handled by the criminal justice system and a joined-up approach to the problem by agencies such as police, probation and social services.

Speaking at the launch of West Mercia Probation Trust, he said: "We have offered as a society no decent programme to teach these young people the moral code we live by.

"These guys are the next adults and they are angry. I am not saying people should not be punished but if we do not work together the problem will get worse."