Deep Cover: How I took down Britain’s most dangerous gangsters

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Certain things came easy to me, and I had an innate drive to succeed. Whatever field I went into, I would put myself up against more educated people, and it gave me fuel”. This is a fantastic read, I read it from start to finish in 5 hours.....I hadn't intended to but it was that gripping. There he unleashed a hail of bullets on the two unarmed officers, tossed a hand grenade on their dying bodies and then calmly handed himself in at Hyde police station. Pc Fiona Bone (left) and Pc Nicola Hughes (Image: PA)

My calm facade belied the rage erupting inside. For 42 days he'd been at large, 42 days that ended in an act of unimaginable horror. I can still see his face. It still haunts me." In the astonishing book he has written about his covert career, Doyle explains that while surveillance is the art of seeing and not being seen, undercover work - especially cold, long-term infiltration - is the art of "being seen and using it to your advantage".Shay Doyle grew up on a tough Manchester council estate where drugs and gangs were rife. A life of crime would have been an easy path to take. So it went against everything that was expected of him when he joined the police. Notching up arrests didn't do anything for me. I had a turbulent upbringing, but I developed integrity and was always taught right from wrong, and to look after the weak and vulnerable.

I was discharged from the police force due to mental health issues. I was still relatively young, but I was struggling with PTSD.

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Doyle began his career in Greater Manchester Police on the beat in Tameside. But his talents and street smarts were noticed by his superiors from the off. And a big part of that, he says, is that new officers, without experience in covert work, failed to understand his role. It's a common failing in modern police forces, he believes. And a big part of that, he says, is that new officers, without experience in covert work, failed to understand the role. "In the business world, you put experts in their field in charge of certain areas of operation. The police quite often don't follow that model," he says. "Ego hinders management in the police world." Some of the practices adopted by those infiltrating the world of activism I find absolutely disgraceful," he says. "It's a different world to that of organised crime." An explosive first-hand account of Level 1 undercover police work, from the cop who infiltrated and dismantled some of the UK's toughest gangs and high-profile gangsters, including Salford's 'Mr Big' and cop killer Dale Cregan. For fans of Running with the Firm, Good Cop Bad War and Soldier Spy

To add credibility to his cover story, he worked alongside Nikki, a fellow Level 1 covert operator who dressed up in Gucci and posed as his girlfriend.From there he slowly worked his way in, doing the odd drug deal, and building valuable acquaintances with some of the main players in south Manchester. He was put to work to gather info on criminals taking over from the feared Gooch Gang, many of whom were jailed in 2009. Ringleader Colin Joyce was caged for 39 years and Les Amos was given 35 years for a catalogue of crimes, including murder. There seems to be a drive for academics to join the police, it’s taking people out like me who’ve got abilities is a mistake. It’s a class thing, not every young person will have access to higher education. READ MORE TRUE CRIME:• The violent rise and fall of gangster 'White Tony'... devoted Winnie Johnson's other lost boy

I want to highlight mental health issues in the police force. Many police officers can’t put their hands up and tell people they’re struggling”.Lee Amos was put away for 35 years for a catalogue of crimes - including murder (Image: PA) Read More Related Articles