Jake Myerson changes his name

The Myerson family saga refuses to die down. A month after novelist Julie Myerson revealed that her latest book, The Lost Child, was based on her family's experiences when her son Jake Myerson (pictured) became addicted to skunk cannabis - she and the boy's father resorted to kicking the 17-year-old out of the house - Jake is changing his name by deed poll.

Now 20, he has had enough and is in the process of changing his name to Jake Karna - inspired by the Hindu legend of a baby called Karna whose mother sets him adrift on the River Ganges in a basket. When the basket finally reaches the river bank, another family rescues him and he eventually grows into a powerful warrior.

"I don't want to be Jake Myerson any more," Jake told the Mail on Sunday.
"I don't want all this to follow me for the rest of my life. I've done some research and come up with the name Karna. It seems to me to be apt for my circumstances."

Jake's parents, Julie and Jonathan Myerson, maintain that they had no option but to change the locks on the front door of their London home because they were convinced the boy was a bad influence on his younger brother and sister. Jake, on the other hand, says: "My mother is nuts. Both my parents are nuts."