A former gang leader who was involved in illegal dog sales but turned his life around has written a book about the role of dogs in gangs.

Wallington man Justin Rollins got into graffiti tagging when he was just nine-years-old and this led to him becoming the leader of the violent WZ gang when he was 14.

Graffiti tagging led to more serious crime as the gang tried to protect its turf and make a name for itself - and this included purchasing dangerous and illegal dogs like pitbull terriers and selling them on.

Mr Rollins, who now lives in Tooting, turned his life around after a spell in prison for injuring two people with a broken bottle after a gang of 14 youths set upon him in Sutton town centre.

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Justin Rollins reads his new book

Since getting on the straight-and-narrow, the 29-year-old father-of-one has turned his attentions to writing and has already published two successful memoirs and a book of poetry.

Now he has turned his attentions to world of dogs in gangs.

He said: "I was the victim of a dog attack when I was three.

"A Doberman attacked me and I have a big scar on my head from it so I know about the effects of dangerous dogs from a victim's point of view.

"But I also see it from another point of view - when I was in stuff on the street I would purchase pitbull dogs and sell them on for a profit.

"This book is about the whole culture of dangerous dogs. I look at the incident where Gloria Knowles was killed by dogs in Morden and where Barbara Williams was killed in Wallington.

"I do an interview with a gang member who uses dogs as a weapon and an interview with an Irish traveller who's involved in the illegal dog scene."

Mr Rollins said the book also looks at the culture surrounding dangerous dogs including the rap music that glamorises them and suggests that laws need to be changed to successfully protect the public from these animals.

He added: "Having a list of banned breeds doesn't work - it isn't down to the breeds. In the right hands pit bulls can be fine, but in the wrong hands non-banned dogs are dangerous and kill people.

"There should be a long list of potentially dangerous dogs and people should need a licence to look after them and walk them in public."

Status Dogs and Gangs is available through Amazon priced at £7.96 for the print edition and £1.84 for the Kindle edition.