I had an ordinary basically happy childhood attending school, playing football, badminton and other sports and generally running round getting up to all the tricks that boys get up to at that age.

The only clue that I had that something was not quite right was when all my friends could run across the top of climbing frames and they could walk along the disused railway lines.

I could not do this because of my lack of balance. What was slightly strange was that I couldn't balance on the railway line very well, but that wasn't on my school report and as it did not affect any other part of my life, I thought nothing more about it.