Wanted: My Life on the Run as Billy Boy Yates [Paperback]

By the time Billy had turned 17, he was already known to the police from the smoky depths of London to the country law of Manea, Cambridgeshire for his involvement in destroying public property, car theft, arson and assault. With an unstable home life and unsuccessful cries for attention, Billy found acceptance amongst the travellers that camped nearby, with his surrogate parents Mr. and Mrs Shepherd, whose large family welcomed him instantly.

Billy became best friends with their son Tommy and it wasn't long before the pair terrorised the quiet country village and its neighbouring towns with their fighting, stealing, dealing in scrap metal and their love of motorbikes.

Billy had found a brother in Tommy and he soon became seen by the travelling families as one of their own and in true traveller fashion, Billy said goodbye to his adoptive family and headed back to London. With no home, no money and outstanding police warrants, Billy found shelter in a public toilet within a petrol station for a number of weeks before turning to armed robbery to line his pockets and move himself out of his dank environment and up the criminal food chain.

In 1997 shockwaves filled the travellers camp as the dead naked body of Tommy was discovered in a rolled up carpet, down a dirt track in chatteris, with accusations of a fellow traveller being responsible. It tore the families apart and it wasn't long before other dead or beaten bodies would turn up as they sought their own brand of Justice. Billy was devastated by the news of his friend's murder and turned to violence, he soon found himself involved in over 20 armed robberies, money making scams; street taxing (targeting drug dealers), shot at, stabbed 3 times, ran down and turned on by those he thought were close friends.

After finally being charged for a series of crimes and given a stint in Pentonville, where Billy turned to Islam, a clerical error allowed Billy to be out and once released he skipped bail and went straight back to his life of crime. As the charges increased Billy found himself with a pocket full of dodgy passports and on the run from the police in England, Spain and Miami, as fumble after fumble on the side of the law allowed Billy to continue his life of crime whilst being on the wanted list. It was in 2006 when armed response units finally caught up with Billy and ended his life of looking over his shoulder with some astonishing results.

This amazing true story of one man's survival on the run and living life under the radar will test your emotions as Billy's life of abandonment, misery, violence, adventure and luck will have you laughing at his comical pranks, crying at his pain and in awe of his life amongst some of Britain's most notorious villains, like Danny Woolard, Freddie Foreman, Frankie Frazer, and his good friend, fighting legend Roy Shaw, who describes Billy as "one of the old school, he keeps his mouth shut, his head down and does the business"