A dad-of-four has turned his life around after spending most of his 20s addicted to drinking and taking drugs.
Mark Tummon from Runcorn had his last drink six years ago. He started his road to recovery in 2015 after trying to slash his face open with a craft knife at his friend's house. He attended Alcoholics Anonymous and had his last drink and drug in late 2016.
At his lowest point Mark, who is a personal trainer, stole money from his partner to feed his addictions. His three children - Cian 15, Caelan, 10 and Orla, eight - barely saw him. Yet he felt nobody understood just how much he was struggling, despite him spending most of his week drinking and taking drugs.
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His addiction was so severe his nose became damaged from snorting so much cocaine and he ended up drinking or taking drugs most days in the week. His problem not only affected his health but it also made him homeless, jobless and moneyless.
Mark says his problems started as a child, feeling like an 'imposter' in his own life and living with a fear of dying. He said: "I was full of fear as a child. I felt I was an imposter. When I was a kid I would be in bed trying to go to sleep and I would be scared that I wouldn't wake back up or keep thinking about what would happen if I died. I felt like I was faking life.
"As I got older I was scared of women. The fear of rejection was unbearable. As I got older I found drink and drugs because they took away all that fear."
Things came to a head in February 2016, when the 38-year-old was found guilty at Liverpool Crown Court of possession with intent to supply cocaine plus obstructing and assaulting a police officer. He was jailed for 30 months after officers found his DNA on 27 plastic wraps containing 17g of cocaine.
Mark told the ECHO: "I was drinking Thursday to Sunday. I was living for the weekend initially then it just turned to every day. It turned me into a liar, a thief and an untrustworthy person. I even tried to kill myself. I didn't want to be there anymore. During the last year of my drinking I would pray every night that I wouldn't wake up. I didn't have the guts to kill myself. Every morning I was devastated to wake up.
"I felt no one understood how bad I was, so on Christmas in 2015 I went round to my friend's house to pick up my toolbox to get my knife but I fell asleep on the gate in the back garden. My friend woke me up and I told him what I wanted to do. I just couldn't stop crying. I wanted to slash my face with the knife to get sectioned.
He continued: "My mum said she felt like something was wrong and rang my friend. He told her about it and she came and got me. I felt that if I did this I wouldn't have to tell anyone how bad I was. My ego was inflated and I thought I was too good to get a normal job."
After being sober for six years Mark is 'living a life beyond his wildest dreams' with his partner Joleigh Berry. The 32-year-old stuck by her boyfriend through his darkest days and helped be the rock he needed.
She is now a teaching assistant and is slowly building back her credit and savings after Mark destroyed them in his 20s. They recently had their fourth child, Radha, who is one.
He said: "I'm not a millionaire, I still have debt but I don't have to turn to drink and drugs anymore. I can talk about my feelings and my emotions. I can admit I was an alcoholic and I was never around my partner and children. She has stuck by since day one. I am, actually around my children now. I'm at home. It feels like I'm a first-time dad again because I get to everything I missed all those years ago.
"My partner suffered greatly and so did my kids. I would rob her money and her bank card. I ruined her credit and it was perfect. I didn't care because I was drunk and off my head."
"I start as a student dietician this month, I never thought I'd be able to get a job like this. This is a life beyond my wildest dreams. The hardest thing I ever did was walk through them doors for the first time because you know you are leaving a life with alcohol and drugs behind.
"I'm not proud. I'm fortunate and lucky. I had such a good network of friends, family and my partner. I couldn't do it by myself. Just doing what is suggested has changed my life."
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