'I don't think I will ever get over this' - Victim of Stafford paedophile speaks out

Now aged 40, Darren Street has waived his right to anonymity and opened up about the vile abuse he suffered at the hands of the market trader for four years in the late 1980s.

On Monday he watched 69-year-old Edensor, who he described as a 'monster', get jailed for two-and-a-half years at Stafford Crown Court for the sexual abuse of another boy.

Judge Mark Eades said the abuse of the victim which brought this week's conviction was part of a series of offending 'by you against young boys in the 1980s'.

But had it not been for the bravery of father-of-five Mr Street in being the first to come forward, the serial attacker may still be on the market stalls of Staffordshire.

It started in 1986 when a relative got him a job with Edensor – the 'potato man' as he was known – helping out at the car boot sales that took place all around the county in Stafford, Cannock and Hednesford, among other places.

"It started very quickly after that," said Mr Street. "I was 12, I didn't understand grooming.

"He would say 'can you come with me in my car' then drive to the top of the field and start putting his hand on my lap.

"It went on and on from there. He would say things like 'did you like that?'.

"It just made me feel very, very dirty. But in the 80s you couldn't go and say to someone I have been abused. I was scared I would go to school and everyone would call me gay. That seemed totally unacceptable in the 80s."

Edensor himself dared his young victim to tell his parents about what he was doing, telling him, 'go on, what is your mother going to think if their little Darren is gay?'.

The grooming and abuse intensified.

Mr Street was only supposed to get £10 for helping out at the car boot, but some days he would walk away with up to £40 and admitted he had to hide the money from his mother to prevent her asking questions.

On one occasion Edensor 'treated' him to a ride in a helicopter, but afterwards told the young teenager he owed him sexual favours to pay back the £120 it cost.

"I was really scared to go to work," Mr Street said. "I would get in his car and would feel relieved the closer we got to the car boot sale. But then he would turn off down this beaten track somewhere."

One day the youngster was summoned to Edensor's home at around 5am on a Sunday morning, but when he arrived the sight before him was horrifying. In the living room he witnessed another boy about the same age with Edensor.

Mr Street said: "I knew the boy. He got up and the look on his face was just one of immense embarrassment. But in a way I felt a bit relieved. I thought 'I'm not the only one'."

For more than a decade Mr Street suppressed his dreadful past, which he now realises 'destroyed' his childhood. But little did he know that he was still suffering.

He candidly admitted treating his first wife's two boys and his step-children 'appallingly' because he would not allow himself to show affection to young boys because of his own dark experiences. But more damagingly, Mr Street cheated on his former partner several times, which he says was his way of proving he wasn't gay as Edensor had taunted.

It was the marriage split which finally prompted him to report the abhorrent abuse he had suffered and in 2003 he went to the police. It gave others the courage to come forward, and within 18 months his tormentor was jailed for four-and-half years at Wolverhampton Crown Court for abusing eight boys in the 1980s. But that was not the end of it. Edensor was released early in 2008. Mr Street said: "I thought that him being sent down would be the end of it, but when he came out I really struggled.

"I tried to take my own life that year. It wasn't a cry for help, it was going to be a proper job. But thankfully a neighbour came in and I was taken to hospital."

Thankfully, things are looking up for Mr Street. In 2011 he gave up trying to live in Stafford and moved to the Isle of Wight, where he currently runs his own business Spear Recruitment. He is happily married with second wife Lisa and his five children. He suffers none of the attachment issues that wrecked his relationship with his step-children.

Mr Street said talking about what took place helps him come to terms with his past. But he also believes in the wake of high-profile celebrities being convicted for child sex abuse the public are almost becoming desensitised to it.

He wants to see tougher restrictions on paedophiles leaving the country upon their release from prison after revealing Edensor bragged about his trips to other nations where sexually abusing children is tolerated.

"I don't want to wish death on any man, but I honestly don't think I will fully get over it while he is on this earth or I am," Mr Street added.

"But if my story helps one more victim come forward I will feel I have achieved something."

For years Darren felt he was serving a lone crusade against Edensor.

He was scared to tell his parents, friends or the police and for a long time he was completely oblivious to the fact others were suffering the same dreadful abuse that he was.

It was his initial complaint, when he was aged 29, that led to the original investigation. And while other victims came forward Mr Street did not know who most of them were until Edensor was sentenced at Wolverhampton Crown Court.

He said: "We were all in separate rooms. But after the hearing I went into another and I couldn't believe it. I knew everyone. It was extremely embarrassing for everybody."

Mr Street is living a new life with his family on the Isle of Wight, but he said it seems the scars of his past will never truly heal. "It is constantly there in the background. I don't think I will ever get rid of it," he said.