Notorious Glasgow gangland enforcer Paul Ferris dies aged 62

A Glasgow gangland enforcer who wrote books about his underworld experiences has died at the age of 62.

He was cleared of the murder of crime boss Arthur Thompson's son, Arthur Thompson Jnr, in 1992, before being jailed for seven years in 1998 for gun-running.

It was later made into a 2013 film, The Wee Man, featuring Line of Duty star Martin Compston as Ferris.

Photographer Brian Anderson, who first met Ferris for a newspaper assignment in 2002, broke the news of his death on his Naked City Facebook page.

Anderson later told BBC Scotland News: "We got on really well. I found him polite, funny and kind.

Thompson, who had links to the Krays in London, was an old school Glasgow criminal known as The Godfather.

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But their relationship took a remarkable twist in August 1991 when Arthur "Fat Boy" Thompson Jnr, was shot dead outside the family's Provanmill home.

Ferris was arrested as the prime suspect in Thompson Jnr's murder but two others were also incriminated.

On the day of Thompson Jnr's funeral both men were found shot dead in a car on the cortege route.

The following year Ferris's trial became, at the time, the longest and most expensive criminal case in Scottish legal history.

The prosecution case relied heavily on the evidence of Dennis Woodman, who claimed Ferris had confessed to the killing while both men were being held in Barlinnie Prison.