The biography of a self-confessed football hooligan is about to hit the shelves.

Heart of a Hooligan, written by Bath journalist Paul Alkazraji, tells how David Jeal turned to God after witnessing a brutal attack on a Swedish youth by English louts.

Jeal, a Bristol Rovers and England supporter, is open about the fact he took his patriotism too far while supporting England, and the book offers an insight into the mind behind the violence.

Paul told the Bath Chronicle: “Dave was clearly no angel, but it is not difficult for the reader to sympathise with him whilst wincing at some of his laddish escapades.

“I tried to write it in a way that was real – that did not gloss over what David was involved in.

“I was not shocked by what he told me, you expect it from someone who was involved in that culture.

“Above all, I hope the story shows how the love of God can take a renegade life and make something beautiful of it.”

Since finding faith, David has helped drug addicts and alcoholics in Bristol and worked with the homeless in South Africa.

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