A former drug and alcohol addict is dedicating his life to guiding others onto the road to recovery.

Ian Young turned his life around in 2001 after 13 years of performing as a DJ around the world, a period in which he built up an addiction to alcohol and amphetamines.

In 2008, Mr Young founded Sober Services, an organisation which uses a variety of techniques to help people attain and maintain permanent recovery from drink and drug addictions.

The service is based at the 42-year-old’s home in Arlesey, but operates on a global level to consult with families over a loved one’s addiction, before offering around the clock guidance to assist the user becoming drug or alcohol free.

Speaking to the Comet, Mr Young said: “I am a recovered drug and alcohol user, and to see someone else recover is beautiful. But the real pleasure I get is when a family employs me to help their loved one, and I am able to return him or her safe, healthy and sober to their family.

“We work with family consultations because often the family are allowing the drinking to happen. We had an incident recently when a father was too nervous to confront his wife about her drinking, and it was only after we had a consultation that he was able to talk to her.

“We offer people 24 hours a day supervision. This means sleeping in the same room, questioning them when they go to the bathroom so that we are 100% sure that they are not drinking. We call it ‘sober body-guiding’.”

Mr Young released his autobiography It’s Not About Me: Confessions of a Recovered Outlaw Addict in February, which offers a candid reflection of his life as an addict, followed by the process of his recovery.

About it, he added: “Despite the title, the book is all about me! But what I meant by the title is that one of the most important principles of recovery from drug addiction is realising that the world doesn’t revolve around yourself. When you are addicted, you are self-centred, it is all about how you are going to help yourself, but recovery is about selflessness rather than selfishness.

“There are a lot of wild stories in the first half of the book, but my book can be used as a guide of how to get sober, as the second half deals with my recovery.”

To find out more about Sober Services visit www.soberservices.co.uk or ring the central office on 0207 993 8598.