Mourners gathered in Glasgow for the funeral of notorious gangster Paul Ferris, who was laid to rest at the same crematorium where his former underworld rival was cremated.
Ferris’s coffin was brought to Daldowie Crematorium, accompanied by large floral tributes spelling out “LEGEND” and “DAD”.
The Glasgow venue was also the final resting place of Tam McGraw, one of Ferris’s chief rivals, who was cremated there in August 2007 following his death at the age of 55.
Ferris and McGraw had both sustained knife wounds during a confrontation between them in 2002.
Pallbearers were seen removing Ferris’s coffin from the hearse ahead of the service. Orders of service were distributed to mourners as a bagpiper played outside the crematorium.
Ferris, a former gang leader who later became an author, died on October 6 at the age of 62. He had been admitted to University Hospital in Glasgow two days earlier.
He leaves behind his wife, Carolyn, and their five children: Paul, Dean, Carolyn, William and John-Paul.
His life was later portrayed in the 2013 film The Wee Man, in which he was played by Line Of Duty actor Martin Compston.
Ferris first attracted widespread public attention in 1992, when he was acquitted at the High Court in Glasgow of murdering Arthur Thompson Jnr, the son of Glasgow crime figure Arthur Thompson Snr.
Mourners gathered in Glasgow for the funeral of gangster Paul Ferris
A floral tribute spelling out “LEGEND” was displayed at Daldowie Crematorium
Paul Ferris was a notorious underworld figure, former gangland enforcer and author
A bagpiper played outside the crematorium as the cortege arrived
The not guilty verdict followed what was, at the time, the longest-running trial in Scottish criminal history.
In 1998, Ferris faced trial at London’s Old Bailey, where he was found guilty of conspiring to transfer prohibited weapons, dealing in firearms and possessing explosives.
He received a ten-year prison sentence, which was later reduced to seven years after an appeal.
While in prison, Ferris wrote his first book, The Ferris Conspiracy. It later became the basis for The Wee Man, which won a Bafta in 2013.
The film followed Ferris’s journey from Glasgow’s tough Blackhill area during the 1970s and 1980s to his role as an enforcer for feared crime boss Arthur Thompson Snr.
Police gave Ferris the nickname “Houdini”, reflecting his ability to evade serious criminal charges that investigators believed they had firmly established.
After leaving prison in 2002, Ferris maintained that he had turned his back on crime. He said he had become a legitimate businessman with interests in the security and construction industries.
He also published several books documenting his life and experiences.
Orders of service were handed out for the funeral of Ferris who died aged 62 on October 6
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Photos of Ferris were shown as well as his family’s message of thanks to funeral directors
Mourners bowed their heads as the cortege arrived at Daldowie Crematorium in Glasgow
Ferris is seen in 1992 outside the High Court in Glasgow after being cleared of the murder of Arthur Thompson Jnr, son of Glasgow crime ‘godfather’ Arthur Thompson Snr
In an interview with the Daily Record in July, Ferris said he had never been tempted to return to crime despite continued scepticism about his transformation.
He said: ‘I have either been an absolute criminal genius for the last 25 years or I have done nothing wrong. Take your pick.’ Ferris grew up just a few hundred yards from Thompson’s fortified home, known as the Ponderosa.
After leaving school at 16, he worked as a van boy before becoming involved in organised crime.
By the age of 19 he had joined Thompson’s inner circle and developed a fearsome reputation in Glasgow’s underworld.
He was cleared over the shooting of John Hogg in 1984, after Hogg was struck when gunmen targeted his cousin Willie Gibson.
Ferris later fell out with the Thompsons in a bitter split that became one of the defining feuds of Glasgow gangland.
He claimed he had been set up over a drugs bust and said only Thompson Snr and Thompson Jnr knew where he had been travelling at the time.
The feud has long been linked to the 1991 murder of Arthur Thompson Jnr, known as ‘Fat Boy’, who was shot dead outside his father’s home in Provanmill.
Shortly afterwards, Ferris’s associates Bobby Glover, 31, and Joe ‘Bananas’ Hanlon, 23, were found shot dead in a car on the day of Thompson’s funeral.
Ferris was charged with the murder of Thompson Jnr but was acquitted after the landmark High Court trial. No one else has ever been convicted over the killing.
However, he was eventually convicted following Operation Abonar, an undercover investigation involving MI5, Strathclyde Police, Scotland Yard and the South East Regional Crime Squad.
The operation caught Ferris transporting three MAC-10 submachine guns, ammunition, Uzi magazines and silencers to Glasgow in an Opal Fruits box in 1997.
Prosecutors said the weapons were destined for Glasgow’s gangland streets.
Ferris was jailed in London for ten years in 1998, later reduced to seven, and served time in Belmarsh prison.
Although he vowed to go straight after his release, he became embroiled in a feud with rival gangster McGraw.
Their dispute culminated in a violent confrontation in 2002 in which both men suffered knife injuries.
A subsequent meeting involving Ferris was recorded during police surveillance and resulted in his parole being revoked and his return to prison.
Ferris is survived by five children, none of whom he said had become involved in crime.
Ferris’s older brother Billy died in prison last year aged 75 for murdering 15-year-old schoolboy Jason Hutchison in Ayrshire in 2003.
