AN EX-CONVICT who now steers other offenders from a life of crime says the fear of returning to prison helped him turn his life around.

Luke Smith, aged 29, of Sheldon, left Winson Green prison three years ago with a string of convictions including robbery and assaulting a police officer.

Since falling in with the wrong crowd as a teenager, he had been in and out of trouble.

But this time he was determined to stay on the straight and narrow.

“I was sick of it all,” he said.

“Don’t get me wrong, I was tempted to go back to my old ways, but then I sat down and thought about the consequences.

“I didn’t want to go back to jail.

“I hated it.

“It was the fact that life went on without you.

“There used to be a pub around the corner from me and when I came out, it had turned into a Lidl.

“It made me feel weird. And Winson Green prison is not a nice place,” added the father-of-one. “You get out of bed in the morning and you’re treading on cockroaches.”