Ex-Walsall striker Troy Deeney opens up on turning away from crime
Former Walsall striker Troy Deeney, whose career was disrupted when he was jailed for affray, has told of how he turned away from crime to get his life back on track.
He currently captains Premier League outfit Watford with eyes firmly on an England call-up in the near future.
But life has not always been plain sailing for Walsall academy graduate Deeney.
The 28-year-old who is originally from Chelmsley Wood in Birmingham, had a difficult upbringing, was kicked out of school and sent to prison in 2012.
The striker recently returned to his hometown with former British sprinter Darren Campbell.
He was one of three children born to his parents, who split up when he was 11. He left school at 16 without any GCSEs and began training as a bricklayer, earning £120 a week.
Now, years down the line, Deeney sites his stint behind bars as a blessing and wants to inspire children who had the same upbringing as him that they can achieve things they put their minds to.
In a television interview, he said: "It was good growing up in Chelmsley Wood. I had a normal upbringing and everyone looked out for everyone.
"I was a real good kid and then I got to year seven and got detentions and I'd be on report all the time.
"I do feel that you play up to it. The people you look up to are the drug dealers, the robbers, the schemers - they're the guys with the nice cars, the nice trainers."
After his dad was diagnosed with terminal cancer in February 2012, Deeney went out drinking in Birmingham. He ended up being part of a group of men involved in a brawl which left one victim with a broken jaw and another with 20 stitches in his lip.
At the age of 23, he admitted affray and was sentenced to 10 months in prison, serving two after showing remorse.
He said: "I was way past drunk before I got there and was trying to suppress everything.
"I remember there was a commotion going on and carried on walking and heard someone say my brother was in the middle of it. Then I just clicked.
"When you watch it on CCTV, further down the line you think that could have been me. You've got to take your punishment like a man."
Now Deeney is setting up his own charity and makes regular trips back to Chelmsley Wood.
He said: "I come back to Birmingham so I can be myself. To keep life as normal as possible.
"There's a moral responsibly, I might be blessed in life but there's a way you can inspire people."
