After fighting addiction for over 20 years, a formerly homeless UK man is now free from drugs and alcohol. Wayne Mercer, 47, says his addiction began with taking drugs in his twenties. Things spiraled out of control from there, with a heroin addiction that took years of recovery. Unfortunately, after getting clean, Mercer eventually fell into alcohol addiction instead of drug use. “I was a heroin addict for seven years, I beat that and have been drug-free for 15 years. But then I started drinking more heavily to compensate [for] the drugs and was slowly killing myself off,” he explained. Mercer said that over time, he eventually became dependent on alcohol. “I was drinking to feel normal,” the Wigan local said in a press release. “It was my medicine to function.” The alcohol dependency soon became a vicious cycle, one that was difficult to break out of. “I was waking …