Father of 40 children by 20 women has no plans to stop having kids

A recovering alcoholic who has fathered 40 children by 20 different women has vowed to go on having kids as long as he can - even though he can only remember the names of half his existing offspring, 16 of whom have been taken into care.

"God says go forth and multiply, I'll never stop," said Mike Holpin, 56, who tries to keep track of all his children – aged between three and 37 – by having their names tattooed across his back.

"I'm as fertile as sin. I don't believe in contraception and I love sex."

Holpin, who lives with his 46-year-old fiancée Diane Morris in Ebbw Vale, South Wales, appeared in the Channel 5 programme 40 Kids by 20 Women last night.

In it, he said that he hopes his children who were taken into care will be able to forgive him.

"Due to my drinking and my womanising, most of my kids have gone through the care system," he said. "I can't make up for what I've done. All I can do is be there for them now."

Andy Sylvester of the TaxPayers' Alliance has blasted his attitude to fatherhood in the Daily Mail.

"Hard-pressed working families have to make tough decisions about whether they can afford another child," he said.

"And those on benefits should be no different. It is sheer arrogance to think you can have as many kids as you want, and taxpayers will pick up the tab. Whatever happened to personal responsibility?"

But Holpin has no plans to stop having unprotected sex. "I'm only 56," he said according to the Mirror. "I'm doing what God wants."

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