Brit Billy Moore found himself the wrong side of the bars in Bangkok - faced with a literal fight to survive the horrors of the hellhole prison
THAILAND'S Klong Prem Prison is about as far from luxury as you can get.
Violent, overcrowded and filthy, the Bangkok slammer is where Brits banged up for drug offences can expect to while away the days.
It was here where Brit Billy Moore found himself the wrong side of the bars - faced with a literal fight to survive the horrors of the hellhole prison.
The boxing enthusiast, who has spent a total of 15 years banged up in 22 different prisons, only managed to get through it by mastering the combat sport of Muay Thai.
Billy battled through his sentence before writing a book,, about his harrowing experiences.
And the reformed career criminal's incredible story of survival is now being adapted into a film starring Peaky Blinders' Joe Cole, with input and an expected cameo by Billy himself.
Billy, from Wavertree, moved to Thailand in search of a better life, having spent much of his youth on the wrong side of the law, battling addictions to cocaine and heroin.
He got clean and started teaching English in the Southeast Asian country, but it wasn't long before he was drawn to the underground fighting world - and the drugs which come with it.
Arrested for handling a stolen mobile, Billy was sent to Klong Prem and slapped with three years.
But at times, it felt more like a death sentence.
In his book, Billy describes the barbarism of life on the inside.
He spent his first night on the floor, in a room rammed with 70 other inmates and a dead body.
The reformed criminal writes about his horrific experience in the jail, where he witnessed murders, rapes and almost daily scenes of violence - often perpetrated by the guards.
He writes: "A young Thai, no older than twenty-five, ran past me, his face showing pure terror. He slowed and turned to look at his assailant, who then passed me swinging his metal chair, striking the victim’s head.
"He lost balance, slipped, and hit the concrete with a loud thud. Another man appeared with a nine-inch knife, and stood over the young man’s body.
“A crowd gathered; even trusties stood and watched as the older man repeatedly plunged the knife into the young Thai’s flesh. It wasn’t done in frenzy; it was slow, cold, and calculated.”
The keen fighter honed the art of Muay Thai boxing - a skill which could guarantee his relative safety and allow him to compete in prison tournaments.
He ended up spending time in two Thai prisons, including the ironically-named Bangkok Hilton, reports.
But Billy survived his three year stint, before being transferred back home to the UK to serve eight final months behind bars.
And now his life will be the subject of A Prayer Before Dawn, the gritty prison drama set for release next year, based on his memoirs.
Joe Cole will play the role of Billy, who is allowed to take part in Muay Thai prison boxing tournaments, where the rules are often thrown out the window and unchecked brutality reigns supreme.
Dreaming of freedom, Billy fights his way to fame in the film and eventually wins his way out of the hell on Earth he's detained in.
The gritty film, shot on location in an actual Thai prison, stars a cast rammed with real inmates.
And if it doesn't make sure you behave next time you go on holiday, nothing will.
Previously, we shared the true story of Narcos' Cali drug cartel, one of the most prominent criminal organisations in the world.
We also told the story of the man falsely accused of a brutal gangland murder.
