A teenage social media influencer from Leyland has written a book about what it is like to live with autism.

Charlie Baker, aged 16, has written ‘Charlie Baker: Autism and Me’  to speak out on his struggles and his coping mechanisms.

Charlie, who has more than 394,000 Instagram followers, said he has been bullied for being different since the age of five and didn’t receive an official autism diagnosis until he was around 11-years-old.

He said: “I have always been different and people noticed that.

“I have been bullied throughout all of my life. I think everyone should be treated with respect and dignity.

“It’s only when I started to build a following on social media that people started to take me seriously.

“You learn to persevere through it and look at me [thriving] now.”

Charlie says he was also inspired by Blackpool model Christine McGuinness, who discovered she was autistic aged 33.

Charlie said: “I noticed celebrities, such as Christine McGuinness, were speaking openly about their autism and I thought it was quite inspirational.

“So I spoke to my mum and we decided to publish a book about autism.

“The book is all about my family, my struggles and how I cope with certain things."

Charlie says he struggles with social situations but has learnt some coping mechanisms over the years.

He said: “It’s quite difficult at times to deal with autism. I struggle with social situations, I am even wary to be in a restaurant.

“I have developed some coping mechanism over the years but it was a bit of trial and error.

“What works for me is having a chat with people I know and listening to music, which completely transports myself into another world.”

Charlie says he didn’t speak openly about his autism to his Instagram followers until his book came out.

Since the announcement Charlie says his Instagram messages have been “flooded” and he also claimed to get a private message from television personality Vanessa Feltz.

He said: “Until my book came out I hadn’t really been speaking about my autism. It was nerve racking to put myself out into the world this way.

“I have been speaking about it more recently and since then notable people have mentioned it.

“Vanessa Feltz privately messaged me on Instagram wishing me luck.

“My direct messages have been flooded with people saying how much the book has helped them.”

The book is available to purchase from online publishing company, Lulu Press, for £17. It is also available on Charlie’s website, charliembaker.com, for $15.

Charlie says all of the money raised will be donated to an autism charity of his choosing.