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Stephen Mellor was 18 when he was arrested over the murder of John Dookie

Stephen Mellor was put in prison for the murder of a rival drug dealer in February 1997 Now released from prison, he wants to Set Up a youth centre and prevent other children repeat their mistakes. Here he describes the childhood in Preston, he led a convicted murderer.

I was born in Preston, grew up in Preston, Five Minutes from the City Centre . I had five older brothers, five older sisters, All In a three-bedroom house. From a young age, I wanted to be a firefighter. Unfortunately, The Path I took, led me far, Far Away .

mom and dad have worked hard, but not everything was, because there were so many of us. I wore my older brothers' shoes and clothes, so there were a few problems Growing Up with people bullying in the school. You want to call a hobo, but I never fought back.

Then, One Day , I was 13, and this guy in the year above gave me grief. I growled gave him two blows and he was cold. I was expelled from school to 13 years old.

But I had learned that I could fight. The people began to respect me. So, I was in a fight.

no one ever knocked on the door and said, "he needs to go back to school". So, Every Day , I would get up, eat something, walk into town.

the next day was the same. From the age of 13 until 17, I used to hang the St George's shopping centre. They meet other children. To see what we could do to earn money.

There was no path, no direction. It's just the circle of day-to-day goods. How can I explain it? It is like a noose.

the people called us Townies. If other gangs came into The City , we would fight at the end. You would have to go down alleys and have a steak, or Rob You on The Street .

I was known for my fighting. I've done it, You bite off people's noses, the ears of the people. Twice, I went to prison. One was a section 18, wounding with intent, and The Other was a section 20 malicious wounding.

Outside the house, above the shops, in which Stephen Mellor grew up

I have to fight, a lot of men when I was younger. The people got to hear Your Name and wanted to test it.

We started doing drugs. We just need to make money, and obviously we were not busy. So, we started selling ecstasy tablets, And Then I was approached by a friend of a friend asked if I wanted to sell heroin.

He supplied us with heroin at a cheap rate, so we were charging half as much as other dealers and still make good money.

I was 17, all over Preston. We had a mobile, and we would make a note of our number, pass it, and that was it Every heroin addict in Preston, wanted to come to me because You double. We had three, four hundred pounds a week, cash.

Only, it led to the murder.

John Dookie was also the trafficking of heroin with his buddies, but we were under offer. They got our phone number from a heroin user who asked to meet us and to stop telling us to do what we have never done. Then it escalated.

One night, in February 1997, I was watching a Mike Tyson fight, and went home through your area. I got in a fight with them. That Night we went back to her house, climbed over The Wall and attacked them. I had a hammer, my buddy Tony Kirk had a knife, he stabbed John in the leg. A few days later, John was trying to get into a car to run Tony down.

On 14 February, John turned up on my doorstep and said that he wanted to talk to Tony. We agreed to meet, but as Tony round, he asked me came: "Where is the knife?"

I knew that he was able to use it, but I handed them over.

We met John and we have it all. in a battle in the St Peter's Street in Preston John staggered, after I went to him and sat down. He said: 'I've been stabbed'. I waved a police car down and said he needed help, then left.

Stephen Mellor, left, at the time of his arrest in 1997, and John Dookie, who was killed

It was not I that stabbed to death physically, John, but I did, for murder under joint enterprise. At that time, I was 18 years old and did not Understand the half of it. Most of what You said in court, the follow I to. Now I know, joint enterprise means that if You go with someone to commit A Crime , then You can be responsible for what happens.

So we had all done. I'll fight You , but because I Am guilty.

it goes by Not A Day where I don't regret what happened. I know John's brother Rob Dookie said he can't forgive the us for the murder. I know he says, we have never said sorry to His Family for what happened.

I had not loved me so many times but I allowed m to make contact with John's family. I can't imagine what You feel or think of me and I can't blame them, to be honest. But I'm not going to forget what happened.

St Peter's Street in Preston, where John Dookie was murdered

It's the smell that hits You First In prison. You 've got three or five hundred boys. All the testosterone and sweat. Then The Prison -want to officers that the landings clean, so You get all the chemical odors as well.

prison is not easy. I was arrested in '97, I lost my brother in March '98 - he drowned in the Navy. My Best Friend killed himself while I was in prison. My nan died also.

It is funny the things You miss. You have flashbacks of The Taste of McDonald's. You go into a tobacco shop in The Morning . Stepping in dog Poo You never see dog poop in The Prison .

I remember my mother telling me before the court: "If You want to see your father alive outside of The Prison , You need to begin, sort your head". My father is my best mate, but he knocked a little.

My first son was born shortly before I was sentenced. I thought I might not need to spend time with the two of them back outside, so I have to turn My Life around.

I couldn't read or write, when I went to jail, but You get a good set of teachers, and if You show them that You want to sort the things that You need to help You . Every night, I would return To My cell, and practicing my handwriting. to bring

My Girlfriend of the time would be that my son to visit me, and he used to say things like: "what time is dad coming home?" It keeps them on the straight and narrow.

I have diplomas in personal training and sports psychology while I was in prison. I have a level 3 qualification in art, English and math, which is like an a-level. I also spent a lot of time with the psychologists. You make, go back to your offense and tell You what they think and feel in the time. It breaks them down. It strips You right down to your Heart .

Stephen Mellor in Preston, where he was born, committed a murder and now wants to open a youth center

There are two ways to go in The Prison , The Right way and the wrong way. You lay your head down, make your books and your sentence is passed. The Other way is to be angry, to do drugs. I would still be in it if I did.

I got a parole after 14-and-a-half years, it was recommended that the minimum of The Judge , so I got out of prison in 2011. Tony ' s as well now.

It is a fantastic feeling The Day You step out of The Prison . You Have To Fly. You can't wait to get home. Do You have a phone, and sleep in your own bed. Eat what You want. You can back step for step in dog poop.

After he was released, I was a lecture at some conference organized by Timpson, the cobbler, which is a lot of Work with ex-cons. Some guy came up to me and said, 'Would You come and give a talk to some children?' I said 'of course'.

Then they asked me to come to Work with them, so I have to check my CRB and I went to Work as a support tutor in Preston.

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I worked with a lot of the worst kids in Preston. They are beautiful kids and nobody sees it, everything You see, is the audacity and the bravery. They Live on these estates, where there is nowhere to go for You to do any activities for You , it's just a Dead End for You .

Some of them, I know I have your life turned around.

It's a boy, could not control The Police , he had already done for carrying a knife and had no qualms with. I took him to Boxing and he absolutely loved it. Then he came to me One Day and opened. He said: "We go in the evening for a gang fight today. "

As I said, Dan Box

long reads, preston, crime

Source of news: bbc.com