The self-proclaimed former gangster who became an author and actor has died.

Dave Courtney was found dead on Sunday at his Plumstead, southeast London home.

A statement on his social media pages said he had taken his own life.

According to his Facebook page, the 64-year-old watched his football team Charlton on Saturday.

Pictures showed him watching as they beat Reading 4-0 in a League One match and enjoying a meal at their stadium with friends.

The statement announcing his death said details about funeral arrangements would be provided “in due course”.

Courtney was known for claiming links to Britain’s notorious criminal Kray twins and arranging security for Ronnie Kray’s funeral. However, he would only have been a child when they were convicted.

He also said he had been the target of murder attempts, including being shot and stabbed during his time in the criminal underworld.

Courtney said his exploits had inspired Vinnie Jones’s character in the film Lock, Stock, And Two Smoking Barrels, which brought the former football hardman to the attention of Hollywood.

Courtney would pursue a screen career, appearing in crime documentaries and low-budget gangster films.

He also wrote several books, including one in which he claimed to have been found not guilty in 19 separate trials.

One in June 2004 saw him cleared of attacking his wife during a row about an affair.

In another in 2009, he was cleared by a jury of possessing a firearm.

Courtney’s Plumstead home has itself been something of a local landmark.

Dubbed Camelot Castle, it’s reportedly decorated with fake guns, swords, and suits of armour, a bust of Courtney, numerous pictures of the late Queen, a jacuzzi, gold lion paintings, Union Jacks, and a statue of a sniper.

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