Editing Colin Ireland (section)

== Early life ==
Ireland was born in 1954 in Dartford, Kent, to an unmarried [[teenage pregnancy and sexual health in the United Kingdom|teenage]] couple; shortly after his birth, his father left him and his 17-year-old mother. His father is not named on his birth certificate, and Ireland did not know his identity. He was raised in [[Poverty in the United Kingdom|poverty]] and moved home many times. When his mother married and became pregnant she put Ireland into care, although he was later returned to her. She went on to remarry in 1966.<ref name=ci/>

During the 1960s in [[Sheerness]], [[Kent]], Ireland was propositioned on three occasions and spied on once by men who were [[pedophilia|paedophiles]]. In his mid-teens, he was sent to [[borstal]] for theft, and whilst there, [[arson|deliberately set fire]] to another resident's belongings. At age 17, Ireland was convicted of robbery. He escaped and was returned to borstal.<ref name=ci/>