Mum of Bronson – Britain’s most violent lag’ Charlie was a sweet child who’d rather snitch than be naughty
CHARLES Bronson’s mother has had her first emotional meeting with the woman who plans to marry the man dubbed “Britain’s most violent lag”.
Eira Peterson, 86, chatted with ex-soap actress Paula Williamson – and credited her with helping him turn his life around.
She has pleaded with authorities to release Bronson before she dies.
And she said that one of her final wishes is to see him tie the knot with Paula.
Eira, a former pub landlady from Aberystwyth, Mid Wales, also said she forgives Bronson for his crimes.
He was a sweet child more likely to snitch on his brothers than be naughty, she recalls.
Eira said: “I’m so glad to have finally met Paula because she has made Charlie so happy. He is so much more relaxed now and I think he’d be able to cope with life on the outside with her by his side.
“He is not a bad person but he has made some bad choices. He fell in with the wrong crowd but he can’t blame others, he has to take responsibility for what he’s done.
Unfair
“Yet I think he is sorry and he has served his time. It’s so unfair he is still in jail when he hasn’t raped or murdered anyone. It’s been such a waste of a life.
“My only hope is that he gets out before I die. I’d love him to visit me one last time so I could give him a hug and cook him his favourite meal of liver and onions.”
Paula, 36, embraced her future motherin- law as she vowed to help secure Bronson’s release. She said: “I don’t back a losing horse. I know one day he will get out and come home to us.”
Bronson then made an emotional call to the pair from high-security HM Prison Wakefield. He vowed to get out and take them both to Great Yarmouth, where his family holidayed when he was a child.
Bronson told his mum: “I’m so glad you have met the woman I am going to marry. I’m only sad that I’m not there with you.
“It’s hard being in prison but in a way it is harder for you because you are just waiting around for me to come out. My only wish is to get out before you die.”
Eira had visited her son regularly over the years but has been unable to since last August, as she needs a hip replacement.
She speaks to Bronson several times a week by phone. He refers to her as “my old duchess” and starts each call by serenading her with songs such as Frank Sinatra’s My Way – which he used as part of his proposal to Paula in February.
Eira said: “You wouldn’t think Charles is a mummy’s boy but he is a loving son with a great sense of humour.
“He makes me laugh so much, especially when he sings to me. He was emotional the last time I saw him because I was in a wheelchair. It would mean everything if he was given parole before I pass away.” Bronson – born Michael Peterson – was the second of three sons born to former model Eira and her late husband Joe.
Eira says the 64-year-old came from a loving, happy home. The children were born in Luton, Beds, before they moved to Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, and later to Eira’s hometown of Aberystwyth. Her family were well respected there and her aunt Bessie Lewis was the mayoress.
Bronson’s elder brother John died of a brain tumour in 2001.
Younger brother Mark, 56, lives close to Eira in Wales. She said: “My boys were so polite and well turned out.
“My husband was strict, a real stickler for manners. Charlie was the shyest and when he became a teen he’d get embarrassed if girls spoke to him.
“He used to snitch on John. They were great mates but Charlie caught him smoking and found adult magazines under his bed and told on him. I never imagined he’d become Britain’s most violent prisoner. It’s a mum’s worst nightmare.”
Eira thinks Bronson went off the rails when John joined the Royal Marines in the late 1960s. Lost without him, he fell in with older petty criminals.
She said: “He was expelled from school. Then, he began going out at night and stealing his dad’s car.
“I was so worried. I was pleased when he got a job in Tesco but he has a disagreement with his manager while stamping sell-by dates on boxes of eggs and he ended up using the stamp on the manager’s forehead.”
Eira and Joe’s world collapsed when Bronson was first jailed in 1974, for armed