A REFORMED East End gangster will be sharing tales of the criminal underworld at a Canvey church next week.

John Pridmore, who served two prison sentences in his teens, now tours the globe as a motivational speaker.

He will be sharing his story at Our Lady of Canvey and English Martyrs Church, in Long Road, on Monday.

John, 50, was a renowned and feared London enforcer in his twenties, with the money he made from crime funding a luxury lifestyle.

He converted to Catholicism 23 years ago after what he describes as a “life-changing experience”.

He visited a client who had failed to pay after a drug deal, John assaulted him so severely, he thought he had killed him.

John said: “I had what I thought was everything. Money, power, girls, drugs, the lot. Yet there was something missing. This struck me more than ever when I thought I had killed someone.

“After nearly taking that man’s life, something incredible happened and my life began to change.

“I began working with at risk youths, showing them there was another path than the violent one.

“Within a few years I was full time speaking in parishes, schools and prisons, to tens of thousands of people each year.”

On his most recent tour, John spoke to more than 7,000 young people and recently returned from the US, where he spoke at international conferences.

John, whose shaved head and 6ft 5ins stature fits the traditional gangster image, estimates he has spoken to more than 2.5million people since his conversion.

He recently published his latest book, Journey to Freedom, about his work with teenagers and former gang members.

His talk on Canvey will start at 7.30pm.