Larger than life: call for assisted dying law after gangster Courtney's suicide

When gangster-turned-author Dave Courtney was found dead last month in the east London terrace he transformed into a crenellated castle, it was not a shock to his inner circle.

- Emily Dugan

Courtney, said to be the inspiration for Vinnie Jones's character Big Chris in the film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, had been planning his exit for months. He was 64, had been in severe pain from rheumatoid arthritis and had other serious health issues, including prostate cancer.

Despite Courtney's claims that the arsenal of weapons at his house "Camelot Castle" were all decommissioned, he found a pistol that worked and turned it on himself. His friends and family said they wished he could have avoided a violent end - and that others in ill health had options too.