'My life as an undercover cop - being a gangster took its toll - it was madness'

dailystar.co.uk:

officer has told how he risked his life to get close to some of Britain’s most dangerous gangsters.Soldier-turned-policeman Shay Doyle played the part of a 24-hour villain after a bloody gang war left innocent kids dead in Manchester’s violent Moss Side area.He was also on the frontline of the hunt for double cop killer Dale Cregan and the murder probe into the gangland slaying of Salford’s “Mr Big” Paul Massey.But a life in the shadows took its toll, sparking a devastating breakdown.Now, in an explosive memoir, Shay tells how he went from Manchester “street kid” to one of the UK’s most ­secretive and elite officers.Built like a cage fighter and street smart, he was raised on a council estate rife with drugs – and could have turned to a life of crime.Instead, he ended up playing the part of Northern Irish gangster Mikey O’Brien.He was given a new identity, his DNA and fingerprints were removed from the national database and any trace of his old life was removed.Shay, now in his early 40s, said: “It was like I’d vanished.

I was given a new passport, birth certificate, driving licence, bank cards, credit cards, all the essential documents for a new identity.“I was sent to the secret Special Branch facility in Lisburn, where I received ­further training in handling firearms and improvised explosives because part of my backstory – or legend – was that I was a professional robber.“I learned how to make cutting ­charges to blow a hole in a wall and how to breach the skin of an armoured cash van with a shape charge.“I was even sent to a diamond centre to learn about clarity and cut.

No stone was left unturned.“Back in London, MI5 spooks gave me a crash course in lock picking and breaking into cars. I also became adept at anti.