A man who spent more than 20 years as a prolific criminal and drug user has spoken out about his troubled days.

Keith, 57, has chosen to tell the story of his life of crime and drugs, which he said began as a teenager, to deter others from following a similar path.

After his parents emigrated to America when he was 15, Keith left school to work but began joyriding in stolen cars, smoking cannabis and getting drunk.

Keith, who lives in Richmond, said: "I wasn’t really thinking much about what I was doing at the time, I was having too much fun.

"I’d been working in the motor trade for about six months at one stage, but it was about my early 20s that I realised that burglary was a good way to make money."

He later spent 18 months in a youth detention centre which was a "short, sharp shock", but only worked for a while.

At the age of 32, Keith said he discovered class A drugs but stopped for seven years while in a relationship. Soon after his relationship broke down, he returned to drugs and his life "was just chaos".

Keith said: "I had no kids or long-term relationship, so I didn’t have any commitments. I don’t do responsibility, me. Never have - I guess drugs were my way of running away."

Keith said he made the decision to accept the help of the London Probation team and turn his life around.

As part of his probation conditions, Keith does weekly drug tests and is on a drug recovery course to equip him with new skills for employment.

He said: "I’d done one-to-one drug counselling before, it worked for a while. But now I’m doing group work with other recovering drug users, which makes a difference because you can actually relate to their experiences as well.

"Either way, I’m embracing it. I also do yoga classes, and that gives me peace - it helps to just calm down my head."

While Keith said he did not have big dreams for the future, he has enjoyed being back in control, and said "a crime and drug-free life is enough for me".

Visit londoncrc.org.uk to find out more.