Something special for Nicol's Hair lover

If I fell over, Mum would do a 'contact assist', says Astra. 'That means that whatever part of your body you hurt, you must take and press against the object which hurt it. You keep repeating this until the pain goes away. She made me do it in public, which embarrassed me.

'If I was ill my mother would give me a 'touch assist' - I would lie down and she would touch me with her finger. She would say: 'Feel my finger.' She wouldn't stop until I felt better, so to stop her prodding me I'd say I felt better.'

Astra and other former Scientologists have confirmed the church does not believe in comforting children, viewing them as adults in young bodies who can handle pain and responsibility like a grown-up.

When Astra was five or six, she started going to church for 'auditing', a form of counselling which is the basis of Scientology's teachings. 'It was like a drill where I was told: 'Look at the wall, walk to the wall, touch the wall, walk away from the wall.' Other times I would be told to follow someone's hand movements with my eyes.

'It was supposed to calm you down and help you see the world clearly, but really it was hypnotic.'