06/02/08 - Ex-gangster greets film with open arms
thisissouthwales

Reformed mobster Carlton Leach has been there and done that.

During his colourful life, the fearsome former football hooligan has seen close pals murdered and had several attempts on his own life.

When a film about his exploits hit the shops earlier this year, the 48-year-old decided he wanted to mark the occasion with a permanent reminder.

So, when he turned up in the Swansea Valley and asked tattooist Rob Evans to ink the film's logo on his arm, it was an offer that couldn't be refused.

Something of a scary proposition, even for former cage-fighter Rob.

He said: "I don't think many people get the chance to inflict pain on Carlton and get away with it."

Carlton gained notoriety following his days as a football hooligan with London football club West Ham United's Inner City Firm.

But the violence on the terraces was just a fraction of what was to come.

During his time as a nightclub doorman, he was shot at by a crazed drug addict and his powerful frame was often hired out by dangerous criminals from London's underworld.

If anyone was getting on the wrong side of his bosses, Carlton would be the man dishing out the revenge.

He would later become a member of the dreaded Essex Boys gang, which ran riot in the 1980s and the 1990s.

But when a drugs war saw three of his pals wiped out in the 1995 Range Rover Massacre, Carlton turned on his back on crime for good.

He said: "It ain't a glamour world. When you become a man, you start losing your best friends, people get shot, and people go inside. There's a lot of pain, a lot of grief."

Now a family man, Carlton has since written two books about his past and seen his life turned into a film, Rise Of The Footsoldier.

Ricci Harnett played Carlton in the film.

And he was so proud of the results, he decided to have the logo tattooed on his arm.

So, last week he arrived at Rob Evans's Clydach tattoo studio Addictive Inks to get the design done.

"I know Rob through a few friends and was impressed with his work," he said.

"He's also the best tattooist in the country, so there was no choice but to come here."

And after two hours work, a nervous pause graced the Capel Buildings parlour while Carlton examined his latest tattoo.

"He's done a great job," he said before heading off to a press conference in Bristol.

However, Wales hasn't seen the last of Carlton just yet.

He will be back on Friday, February 15, when Llansamlet pub The Four Seasons, in Trawlln Road, stages a special dinner event with the former gangster.

Something security firm boss and fan Derek Hill, aged 27, is more than pleased about.

"I think he's shown amazing mental strength," he said.

"There's not many people who can go through what he has and come out the other side to tell the story."