Young Offender: My Life from Armed Robber to Local Hero

Michael Maisey grew up during the late nineties on the Ivy Bridge Estate in Isleworth, west London. Abandoned by his father and abused by his uncle, scared and wanting to feel as if he belonged, he fell in with a local gang. He started drinking, taking drugs and shoplifting. By the time he was fifteen he was an armed robber. When a poorly planned raid on his local corner shop went wrong, he was sent to the infamous Feltham Young Offenders Institute. Michael's first stint in Feltham left him hardened. Assigned to the Quail Wing, home to the institute's most violent and dangerous offenders, he soon established his place in the system. Over the next five years, Michael became one of London's most wanted armed robbers. In and out of prison, he was accused of drug-dealing, assault and even attempted murder. Totally dependent on drugs and alcohol, he was subjected to a controversial detox programme which ended in a failed suicide attempt. At rock bottom, he began attending AA meetings. But a drug-deal gone wrong left him with an ultimatum - change or die. Could he leave his criminal past behind? Young Offender is a powerful story of redemption by a man who found the strength to turn his life around and - with no qualifications - to become a successful businessman and loving father.

Michael Maisey was born and raised in Isleworth and became one of London's most prolific young lawbreakers. He spent most of his teenage years in Feltham Young Offenders Institute after a raid on his local corner shop goes wrong. Twenty years after the armed robbery that changed his life, he is now sober, the proud father of two daughters and owner of an estate agency business. As well as being an aspiring actor, he dedicates his spare time to mentoring young offenders and addicts and was recently honoured by the London Borough of Hounslow for his services to the community.