Gangs, Drugs, & Stolen Goods: The Ex Underworld Fixer Turned Church Leader

For years, Mick Fleming was heavily involved in Burnley's Underworld scene, from drug dealing, violent beatings to stealing cars. But the father-of-three, once described as one of the most dangerous gangland fixers in the local community, was harbouring a pain decades deep.

TW: This article contains several

references to suicide.

Mick grew up in a strict "old school" household in the North of England, a region widely known for its deep structural inequalities, including deprivation and insecure work.

Now in the same area, which still has one of the largest proportions of adults on universal credit in the country, he is helping drug addicts, gang members, and the vulnerable turn their life around through prayer, compassion and basic utensils.

But his life hasn't always looked like this - in fact in the 90s he was one of the most feared men in Burnley.

By the age of 14 up until his 40s he was the man others would ring to clear drug debts. A call to Mick meant one thing - someone wanted someone-else dead.

As his reputation grew so did his pockets because he was being paid for every person he killed.

"At the moment I'm in recovery of drug addiction, alcoholism, and sexual abuse that I experienced as a child. I was a profane criminal, I used to hurt people for a living, that was my job. I used to sell drugs and carry drugs," he told me over the phone.

"But that's not who I am anymore. I'm completely transformed."

Childhood

On February 1 in 1977 - Mick, aged 11, was sexually assaulted by a stranger in the park on his way to school.

His first instinct was to tell his parents the next day but as he went downstairs - his dad came racing through the front door with the news that his older sister, Ann, had died.

That was the turning point in Mick's story, he told Awallprintss.

His sister, who he described as loving, had died of a heart attack at Burnley hospital. He admitted that after hearing the news he quickly spiralled out of control and at just 11-years-old - drugs became his "solution" to getting through life.

But with his dependency came criminality and at 14 he was not only using drugs but dealing them too.

Although he claims he was making "crazy money" he said the wealth didn't fill the hole he had inside.

Besides the stolen cars he drove and the money he made - life wasn't all luxury as the world of criminality meant he feared for his life on a daily basis.

There were two serious attempts on his life, a drive-by at traffic lights and the other a home invasion that went wrong.

And there was also loss.

His best friend died from a drinking session aged 16, choking on his own vomit, while his other friend suffered a methadone overdose at 17.

The truth is Mick was living a double life. At home he was the loving father of three and he was married. But as things took a toll on the streets - he was needed more than ever.

This meant Mick's mum had to step in to take care of the children to prevent social services getting involved.

A change

It was the early morning back in 2009 and Mick was waiting outside a gym - far from his home county. He had been called by someone looking to teach a fellow drug-dealer in debt a lesson.

At the time of the call he was already in his early 40s. He waited outside in a stolen dark blue Vauxhall Cavalier observing the area and how he'd make his move.

"I went to collect a debt and I had my firearm with me. I jumped out of the car with the firearm wrapped inside a carrier bag, You could see the shape of the gun," he told AWP.

His mission was to make the hit quick. Pull the trigger, leave the dead body and run.

But when he got out of his car and walked towards the gym he saw his target - a fellow drug dealer - holding the hands of two kids.

"My hand was reaching into the plastic but then I looked again at the children, again at their faces, their blonde hair, innocent kids.

"But then as I looked at one of the children I saw a light - It was white and for 15 seconds I couldn't see," he said.

"You can look at it as a divine act or you can look at it as that I was psychologically damaged but that light made me to feel sick, I felt sick a d had to go back to my car.

"I drove off into an industrial area where I said a prayer for the first time and nothing happened. Nothing changed, you know, and I became really angry and smashed the car radio which caused my hand to bleed.

"For a split second I decided to put the trigger on myself... I pulled it but it didn't go and I just cried. The last time I cried like this was when I was 11 years old. I just felt my prayer had been answered."

Church Of The Streets

His attempt of taking his own life triggered an intervention by the local authorities and within a day he was sectioned under The Mental Health Act. My new home was Burnley psychiatric unit.

He told AWP he had nothing but clothes when he arrived but strangely felt more at home than he ever did anywhere else.

It was at that unit that Mick met Pastor Tony, who used to visit him on a regular basis, praying, reading and talking.

He started re-building his life day by day.

The encounters with Pastor Tony and the glimpse of hope that he could certainly change the course of his life led him to take on a theology degree at the University of Manchester.

"I never drank or touched a drug again. It wasn't easy, it was horrendous. But it was my path to God - and all the way to 2020 and the pandemic."

Today - the former gangland fixer is a pastor himself, known widely as Pastor Mick. He runs the charity Church on the Street Ministries, in Burnley, with those most in need - the homeless, the drug users, the hungry.

His church, a former gym that closed during the pandemic, is focused on reaching the most vulnerable. Inside his church - there's a friendly open-door policy.

He said he wants others who have had troubles to find hope - just like he has. His church now sees up to 1,000 people a week, paid for by a crowd-funder because people were so moved by Mick's previous media appearances.

Mick is frequently confronted with his past experiences of child abuse and drug taking as he fields requests for help.

He has no formal training to deal with these often difficult conversations, but uses the basic principle of compassion, inspired by his own recovery as well as the support of his team, which includes his wife.

"We were able to pay for people's funerals that couldn't afford it and if we hand't done that then they wouldn't have been able to do it and that's the biggest privilege."