Tom Jones` love child blames father for drug addiction

Melbourne: Tom Jones` love child Jonathan Berkery has said he became a gun-carrying drug dealer who slept rough because he was abandoned by the singer, who has always refused to acknowledge his existence.

Berkery, who uses the name Jon Jones, said he slept on park benches, in his car or homeless shelters for more than two years after a drug gang befriended him as a teenager. And he blames 72-year-old Sir Tom, who is a judge on the BBC1 talent show `The Voice` that began a second series on Saturday night, for ruining his life, News.com.au reported. Berkery`s mother Katherine, who was a model, became pregnant at 24 after a three-day fling with Sir Tom in 1987 when he was 47. She was forced to take Sir Tom to court and was handed 1,700 pounds a month in child support after DNA tests revealed he was the father. Although the Welsh singer has fulfilled his responsibilities financially, he never provided the emotional support Berkery craved growing up. Berkery said he never received a phone call or birthday card from Sir Tom and it ruined his life. He said that he turned to drugs to help him cope with rejection from Sir Tom, and so began his downward spiral, which led to him dealing and carrying guns. After an arrest for drug possession a couple of years ago, Berkery said he had drug counselling and lived in a shelter. Now he has moved back in with his estate agent mother in Charlotte, North Carolina, and is determined to carve out a career as a singer to prove himself in spite of his father. Berkery said he often fantasises about appearing on The Voice to force Sir Tom to acknowledge him. He said: "I like to imagine that I am on the show singing, he swivels around in his big chair, realises I am his son and I just make a rude gesture at him with my middle finger." He added that his feelings for Sir Tom are conflicted, as even if he`s his biological father, he has never been a dad. And he`s not sure whether they could ever have a relationship now. ANI