The soldier-turned-undercover policeman risked his life to infiltrate south Manchester's gangland. He was also on the frontline of some of the most high profile police operations in Greater Manchester history, including the Stepping Hill poisonings and the hunt for double cop killer Dale Cregan. Shay 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. Lee Amos was put away for 35 years for a catalogue of crimes - including murder (Image: PA) Read More Related Articles 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.

I’d spent my life at the sharp end, chasing gangsters. Feeling the adrenaline of going through the door, the rush of a big arrest. All that was gone.” Nor does he view his own disillusionment as an isolated case. "Many officers in undercover policing walk away with a very bad taste in their mouths. But the 17 years he spent in his covert career took a terrible toll on his personal life and mental health, sparking a catastrophic breakdown. Now, in an explosive memoir, Doyle (not his real name) has told how he went from a council estate kid to become one of the UK's elite undercover cops. 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."And the plan worked. Over the course of a year Doyle became known around Moss Side and Hulme and became a regular drinker in the area. Doyle is not his real name. He was given a new identity when he was medically discharged from the police in 2020 suffering from PTSD. Now in his forties, he feels he has paid a heavy price for his career. "I sacrificed my mental health for it," he says. It wouldn't be long before Shay's prodigious talent caught the attention of the top. Then came the call that changed his an offer to join the secret Level 1 undercover unit known as Omega. And it was easy to see why they wanted him; he wouldn't have to stray too far from what he already knew. He had all the attributes of a professional criminal - the athletic physique of a cage fighter, the talk, the walk. Streetwise and fearless, he'd be a match for the most hardened villain. He was given a new identity, his DNA and fingerprints were removed from the national database, and so began the life of Mikey O'Brien.

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) 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. The suspected gumnan was one-eyed drug dealer Dale Cregan. He fled to Thailand, but was arrested at Manchester Airport on his return. Armed police pictured during the search for Dale Cregan The rise and fall of Dominic Noonan, the paedophile gangster who once ruled Manchester's underworldI just don't speak like that. All I had to do was put to use all the attributes I'd been unconsciously collecting all my life." 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”. Shay's police career spanned 17 years, and he was one of the UK's chosen few Level 1 undercover operatives. 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. 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.