An Essex man has opened up about how a congenital condition that means he has an inch-long penis has affected his life.

Steve Baker, 62, suffers from hypospadias, a condition present at birth that affects the size, appearance and function of the penis.

Mr Baker (a pseudonym), from Chelmsford, Essex, told MailOnline about how he thought he was the only man in the world to be afflicted with the condition.

He said it “was a huge relief to learn I wasn’t the only man affected” after finding solace through anonymous online support groups, where he and other hypospadias sufferers could speak openly about it.

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Mr Baker, whose penis he says is a little more than an inch long, said: “Someone should have told me what was wrong with me because my life could have been very different.

“If my parents knew there was something wrong with me they never said, nor did the doctors who much have examined me as a baby.

“Presumably they must have seen it. It’s all very sad. They must have just all been too embarrassed to mention it.”

According to the NHS, hypospadias is usually diagnosed and assessed when male babies are just a few months’ old, and treatment planned for when the child is between six months and a year old.

It is unknown what causes hypospadias, which is present in about one in every 3,000 boys, but it means normal urination and normal sex is affected drastically.

For some sufferers, urination standing up is impossible and in severe cases, sufferers can develop a ‘micropenis’, where the organ measures less than 2 ¾ inches long.

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The hole through which urine is passed (known as the meatus) is usually not in the right position, which is the tip of the organ. In Mr Baker’s case, his meatus is at the side of the head of his penis.

When fully erect, his penis is no more than four inches long and lacks the girth of a normal adult male penis.

“There is no question it affected my self-confidence and my entire personality because of the importance that society places on the size of men’s penises,” he said.

Mr Baker, who now lives in Canada, said he consulted a specialist urologist in New Zealand in 1976, who failed to correctly diagnose his hypospadias.

According to the newspaper, the doctor decided to circumcise Mr Baker, then 21, but this worsened the problem and was a “botched operation”.

“I was left with no feeling at the tip or much sensation of any kind,” he said. “If I’d known the issue was hypospadias, I would not have gone near the guy.

“I have no idea why he decided to circumcise me, and the idea of complaining about the damage wouldn’t have occurred to me. It was all too embarrassing. I just had to live with it.”

According to the NHS, “it is important that circumcision does not take place”, as the foreskin is needed during the appropriate treatment when the condition is diagnosed at birth.

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Mr Baker said he still has a normal sex drive, but “the combination of lack of size and lack of sensitivity” has affected his relationships.

At 29, he married his best friend’s sister, with whom he had two children. However, the marriage collapsed in 2001.

“We weren’t destined to be together forever, but the sex didn’t really help. It was just so difficult, it didn’t really happen,” he said.

Mr Baker is determined to ensure his children know and understand the condition. “It could make all the difference to them, and to any grandsons I may have.”