The first wife of Britain's most notorious prisoner "can't rest until he's out of prison".
Irene Dunroe, from Barnston, Wirral, still keeps in regular contact with her ex-husband Charles Bronson over the phone and by sending letters to his cell at HMP Woodhill in Milton Keynes. Bronson was first locked up for armed robbery in 1974, but during his time inside he has taken hostages in ten prison sieges, attacked at least 20 prison officers and caused £500,000 in damage in rooftop protests.
The 70-year-old, who lived in Ellesmere Port, is currently serving a life sentence for taking prison art teacher Phil Danielson hostage at HMP Hull after he criticised one of his drawings. Bronson has spent more than 45 years behind bars, where he has earned the name of Britain's most violent and notorious prisoner.
READ MORE: Who is Charles Bronson and why is he Liverpool's most notorious prisoner?
Bronson's first wife Irene, 70, who still refers to him by his birth name Michael (Mick) Peterson, believes it's during his time inside that he's grown violent "in retaliation" to how he's been treated. But she claims he's now turned his back on crime and is hoping a public parole hearing this summer will lead to his release.
Irene told the ECHO: "His crimes are because of the way he's been treated inside in retaliation. The way he's been treated, some of the things you would not believe. He used to write to me and tell me what had happened."
Irene said Bronson, who has been transferred to different prisons across the country over the last 45 years, has "had some of the worst living conditions ever", with large periods of time spent in solitary confinement. He was released in 1988 for a short time before returning to jail soon after.
Irene said: "The prison had to get him glasses because of being kept in the dark all the time. He's been fed through a hole in the door, he's just been treated like an animal.
"It's no wonder - if you treat an animal [badly] constantly that animal over time is going to turn, and that's what he's done."
Irene and Bronson first met at the age of 19 and went on to get married and have a son, Michael, together. The couple's marriage came just two years before Bronson was jailed for the first time in 1974 - but it wasn't until he was sentenced in court that Irene said she found out about the crimes he had committed.
Now, Irene has decided to share her side of the story with the release of her new book: ''The Truth, The Whole Truth and Nothing But the Truth.' The book lays bare the reality of a family left behind after Bronson went to prison and how Irene lived through years of turmoil and uncertainty as she tried to rebuild her life without him.
"People said I might be able to help other women who have gone through the same situation to show you can move on with your life and you can survive that, although there's a lot of repercussions", Irene said.
Irene said she still suffers flashbacks to the day Bronson, who now goes by the name of Charles Salvador, first went to prison in 1974, and recalls the time he went missing for weeks on end before his arrest. She said: "He used to disappear for a week every now and again.
"When he came back I said 'where have you been Mick?' He said 'I've had a bit of a hangover, I had to stay at my friend's to recover' and I just accepted it. I must have been very naïve.
"During the weeks before he went missing for the last time he went into hiding - I didn't know he had done - it was happening more and more often. Whether he was thinking of doing crimes I don't know.
"It has affected me, it has been a horrible experience - and the fact that the house was raided as well. It was about 3'oclock in the morning, I was in bed, Mike was in bed and Mick had gone missing.
"I still never found out where he was, he'd just gone missing for a few weeks. The next thing I heard banging on the door. I started to walk downstairs and said 'who is it?' and they said 'Mick, Mick.'
"All these police men burst in, one took me into the lounge and the others started emptying all the drawers - I didn't know what they were looking for. They ransacked the whole house."
It wasn't until two weeks later that Irene discovered Bronson had been arrested and taken to Ellesmere Port police station. Irene said: "His dad took me to see him. I'm sure we went down into the cells.
"He just said 'I'm so sorry Irene, I'm just so sorry Irene.' I didn't even know what he'd done, he never told me.
"I was never suspicious at all. When he was at home we used to walk up to my mum's house in Little Neston we used to go down these little lanes, there used to be some great big mansions. We used to go to a road with lots of these on and Mick used to stop the pram, put the brake on and he'd start climbing up onto these walls and look into the gardens.
"I used to say 'what are you doing Mick?' He'd say 'I'm just looking at this beautiful garden. I just thought he was admiring the flowers, I believing him. Obviously, he was looking to see if there was any access to see if he could break in, he must have been."
Irene said she was horrified on the day Bronson got jailed for armed robbery in 1974 and when his sentence continued to get extended during his time inside, she decided to divorce him around four years later.
The 70-year-old has remarried twice since then and after years of having no contact with Bronson she is now back in touch with him again. Irene said Bronson is hoping he will be released from prison following a parole hearing this year and plans to take her out for a meal.
"He said he can't wait to get out and buy lots of clothes. He can't wait to have steak, mushrooms and onions - that's what he's really looking forward to and fish and chips.
Irene said: "I just want him out of prison. I can't rest until he is out of prison. He deserves to be out of prison - it's been his whole life.
"He's not into crime anymore. He just wants to enjoy his last few years in peace."
Irene Dunroe’s The Truth, The Whole Truth And Nothing But The Truth is available now on Amazon.
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