AS the daughter of a British Formula 1 legend, Christianne Ireland lived a life few could imagine. Christianne, now 65, says her life was saved when she started volunteering at an allotment and she has rebuilt a future as a support manager at a charity called Unity which helps the most vulnerable in society. She said: “When I think back on the life I had it seems crazy. Christianne’s story is full of twists and turns and a long battle with the bottle which left her homeless with just a suitcase full of expensive clothes – remnants of her past life. Christianne said: “My father’s success was a double-edged sword. Christianne says her mum struggled to cope and she was sent to a convent  boarding school just before her fifth birthday which she “hated” because “we weren’t from a strict Catholic family, dad was becoming famous and I was the oddball there”. She said: “My dad got custody of me and I didn’t dare ask what had happened. She said: “I would go home from school whenever dad was around and we did have some wonderful times. Christianne was sent to private girls boarding school Oxenfoord Castle in Midlothian where she says she developed into a “rebellious teenager”. Christianne says she started drinking copious bottles of wine throughout her marriage, adding: “My poor husband didn’t know how to cope with it, none of it was his fault. Christianne went on to meet Tristram, her second husband, who she wed in 1995, at an AA meeting in what she describes as a “typical cliche.”. Christianne volunteered with the local AA and went on to speak to prisoners in Broadmoor, the psychiatric hospital which has housed lags like Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe and four-times killer Robert Maudsley. She said: “I wasn’t allowed near people like that but I spoke to people with mental health issues who had issues with drinking or drugs. Nine years into her marriage, Christianne said she started secretly drinking again after moving to Gloucestershire and becoming unhappy. She said: “I’d do a bit of social drinking but most of it was in secret. She and husband Simon, who Christianne says “didn’t know how to help me”, broke up after nine years of marriage and he moved to New Zealand. She said: “Over the next five years I went through all my savings, sold some jewellery to live off and tried to find jobs, but I wasn’t in the right headspace. She said: “By this time I was on benefits of about £60 a week. Christianne spent eight weeks in a hostel where she had to sleep in a single bed in the dining room. Christianne started to volunteer at a charity called Unity, and a locally-run allotment – a move she credits with saving her life. She said: “When I started digging, clearing, growing, pruning it felt like I was getting rid of debris, not just from the allotment but from my life. She said: “I don’t regret all those things that happened because they brought me to where I am now.

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