A brutal London gangster has recalled the takeaway shop attack that kickstarted his long and storied criminal career.
Dave Courtney, 63, who claims to have served stints in the notorious Belmarsh prison for a variety of gang-related crimes, said the situation went down when he and his younger brother went out for good on New Year's Eve.
After heading to a local Chinese takeaway, the pair were involved in a simple miscommunication which ended up sparking a huge brawl, the Daily Star reports.
"They brought it out on plates, and he said, ‘no, I’ve got to take it away’, and they said, ‘no, we don’t do takeaway on New Year’s Eve’. So he didn’t pay for it, and there’s a great big fight,” Dave explained to the Eventful Entrepreneur podcast.
“So he comes back to the pub, walks in the door a bit bleeding, me and all the boys have gone running into the restaurant, and some geezer pulled out a big machete.
“I’ve just got my eyes on that, I’m running towards that, and I’m getting all these karate chops around me but they’re not hurting because I’ve got my eyes on the prize.”
After biting the man's hand and grabbing the knife, Dave found himself brandishing the weapon as the assailant stood on the counter.
“I’m standing on the floor, pointing it at him, and he just jumped on me… I couldn’t get out of the way if I wanted to."
The man had been stabbed and the violence was about to escalate further as a chef came running out of the kitchen carrying a pan of boiling oil.
“He was like, ‘get out of my shop’ about four foot away from me, and because the knife was longer I’ve gone ‘bonk’, and he’s tipped it onto himself, he’s rice krispied himself.
“I was ready to make a run for it, and this bloke came out of the kitchen with no shirt on, those black Bruce Lee trousers, and he’s come out with a chopper that’s about 3 foot long.
“He’s trying to kill me, I was having a real sword fight and he was genuinely trying to kill me; I’ve just crispy ducked his mate and he thinks I’ve stabbed the other guy to death.
“I was like, ‘Jesus, I’m going to die, I’m actually going to get chopped up’.”
The sword-brandishing restaurant worker then slipped on the oil of the floor, allowing Dave to beat a hasty retreat.
Dave said he ended up being sentenced to three and a half years in prison for his part in the brawl.
The former friend of the Kray twins has gone on to work as an actor and on a number of charity events.
He claims to have previously been involved in debt-collecting, minding clubs, assault, contraband, and murder.
He previously said that he had to kill to stay alive and that he has been shot, stabbed, and had his nose bitten off during his grisly criminal past.
