Bernie was born in July 1988. He got his nickname Bernie at the age of twelve when he burned down his neighbour's shed with cigarettes. Bernie was unpopular in his neighbourhood. He got thrown out of his house and bought a flat on Evelyn Street. Even his own mum wouldn't allow him home until he gave her the fifty pounds he owed her. When questioned by Torchwood, a boy complained about being cheated out of an iPod and stolen cigarettes, a man called him "bad" and a woman contemptuously said she "wouldn't piss on him if he was on fire".