'Now I want to help kids': Hardman Paul 'One Punch' Doyle freed from drugs sentence
A 'reformed' Salford gangster known as One Punch Doyle has been released from prison on licence after serving half of a 16-year prison sentence for plotting to flood the north west with drugs.
He bought the property in 2004 - shortly after being released from a seven-year sentence for drug dealing. At the time he had never worked and was claiming benefits along with his wife, who falsely claimed to be a £200,000 a year executive to secure a mortgage. "You can put that same energy into starting a business and will most probably prosper instead of putting it into criminality."
"Over the years, with experience, I've come to realise there are different ways of doing things than just going back and forth from prison. There was no sense of hope in that life. When I saw young lads in prison, they are like zombies. The person I was then isn't the person I am now. I can't go back to that life. If I breach my licence, I'll be going away for a very long time.
In his younger days, at 5ft 8in tall, Doyle was frequently underestimated by his rivals because of his size. That all changed one night in the early 1970s at Pips nightclub in Manchester.