A former criminal says he has turned away from a life of crime to pursue a career in comedy after spending much of his adult life in prison.
James Wilson, 30, from east Hull, has been jailed on a number of occasions and was even caught up in an infamous riot which saw a wing of HMP Moorland set alight and prisoners barricading themselves into their cells.
But he insists things have now changed and says comedy is helping him on to the road to recovery.
James was an inmate at Moorland Prison, near Doncaster, where he was serving a five-year sentence for grievous bodily harm (GBH) with intent when the riots erupted in 2010.
He was soon shipped off to HMP Wolds before being let out on licence after serving two and a half years.
But while on licence, he committed another crime and was sent to HMP Hull for a GBH charge. He spent a further two and half years in prison.
Despite trying to stay out of trouble, he spent around a year locked up again for domestic crime. But since being released two years ago, James says he has kept clean.
He says the birth of his son, now three, prompted him to turn over a new leaf, and he now wants to make a career out of comedy - using the past 11 years as material.
James said: "I struggled to speak as a bairn and didn't really go to school. I was just a bit naughty.
"After school I would hang around with my friends and drank and smoke weed."
It was at the age of 16 James first got into trouble after carrying out "beer runs" that saw him running into shops, grabbing beer bottles and cans and running back out.
He said: "I was getting locked up every week. I spent four months in a youth prison and what for? A few years just drinking and having a laugh.
"I tried to stay out of trouble but I was still hanging around with my mates, thinking I was a gangster and thinking, 'Thug life'."
It was when he was 19 James got his taste of adult prison when he was sentenced for GBH after fighting with a group of youths outside a pub. When bouncers split the fight up, he left and saw one of the boys outside.
He said he hit him, the boy fell to the floor and then he kicked him.
During his time at Moorlands, James saw the harsh reality of life inside. While on the young offenders wing, he says he saw horrible scenes.
He said: "I got five years and I did two and a half. It was really rough. I saw a kid get stabbed in the shower and saw some mad fights in the yard where people got their teeth knocked out. It made me stop drinking."
James said drugs were rife on the wing - although he says he never touched them.
When he reached 21, James was moved to the adult wing - at the same time the riots broke out, which he says were so scary he thought he would die.
He said: "When I got onto the adult wing it was a lot calmer and more chilled and a breath of fresh air.
"Before the riots, I heard whispers of things but never thought anything was going to happen."
James said no one could close their cell doors, a fire was started and chairs were thrown about the wing.
He said he stayed out of trouble and in his cell.
He said: "I just stood around and stayed in the doorway. Things were getting thrown around and the officers started running off the wing - people were covering their faces and chairs were getting thrown. The people involved got 12 years in prison.
"Being in prison does affect your mental health. I had a friend called James Brown whose nickname was Bondy who I was in with at the time.
"He was given an IPP (indeterminate prison sentence for public protection). He had been in prison since he was around 15 or 16 years old for robbing someone at knifepoint for their motorbike.
"It is a terrible crime and he did 12 years for it and at his last parole he said he would take his own life and he ended up doing that."
After the riots, James was sent to HMP Wolds, which he says was a lot better, with "amazing gyms" and "bigger cells" and said it served food to prisoners that he would happily eat every day - but says it didn't make him feel better.
After being released, and while on licence, he was charged with GBH without intent after hitting a taxi driver outside a Hull hostel.
He was recalled back to prison and spent another two and a half years inside at HMP Hull.
James said: "Even if you have everything you want in jail, it's still a nightmare. Even if you have a mobile phone and are close to your friends and family you are still trapped in a room and cannot see your friends and family.
"When I was missing home I would read and would write things down."
James says being in jail has impacted his mental health, although he now uses the bad experiences as material in his standup routine.
It was when he left prison for good two years ago for a domestic crime that he decided to turn his life around.
He said: "I'd had breakdowns and things in prison but when I had my son I just wanted to change. I started to see everyone and everything for what it really was and decided I wanted to change.
"It broadened my mind and made me want to live a normal life. With comedy, I've got nothing to lose and everything to gain. I want to be successful and make my son proud and make me someone he can be proud of."
James started writing down his material and joined a Facebook group for aspiring comedians long before he took to the stage.
He said: "Comedy is something I've always been interested in and something I've always wanted to do but I never thought I'd be able to do it. It was only October last year that I first got on stage and did it.
"I've been preparing for it all of my life and I've realised everything else has helped me and has been about material. I've wanted to do it for years."
James' first gig was at Jazz Bar in Hull city centre. He said: "My material is about all sorts. I put everything in it about my life and then some topical stuff. I feel very loose and relaxed on stage. My first appearance went down really well.
"I was very nervous. The last few have been going really well and I've had a lot of good comments from people."
Since then, James says he has performed at Hull Fringe and Hull Comedy Festival. He said as well as being able to perform himself, he has also been given the chance to watch other comedians in action and even open for them.
He says he particularly enjoys performing at Away With Words, a spoken word night that takes place monthly at the Off The Road Live Lounge in Spring Bank West, west Hull.
Although many of the performers are poets, James feels it is a good place to test out new material.
He said: "I like going there, all of the people there are brilliant and are really clever."
Speaking about the future, James is excited to find out what it holds for him.
He said: "I'm excited for the journey and I'm enjoying it so far. I get low when I'm not doing comedy, I just want to do it.
"I'm staying out of trouble and concentrating on comedy - it's distracting me from everything and I love it. It's the start of a new era for me really.
"I've turned my life around and it's amazing."
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