A Stevenage author is releasing a new crime novel based on the controversial 1972 murder of a gangland boss outside his home in the town.

Terry Clarke was shot twice on November 5 as he returned home from a bar, with his acquaintance Paul Cleeland sentenced to 30 years in prison after a retrial in 1973.

He was jailed despite evidence being circumstantial, and Cleeland, now 75, has always insisted he is innocent and was at home with his wife that evening, but attempts to clear his name have failed.

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Now, a new novel by Stevenage author Fergus Anstock has taken inspiration from the controversial case, having been part of the law firm which defended Cleeland and an active member of the defence team.

A Tale of Scorpions, out on April 27, explores the issues of circumstantial evidence and the prejudices of the 1970s which defined Cleeland's case.

"The story starts on Bonfire Night, 1972," explains Fergus. 

"In a new town called Stetchworth, a local gangster is brutally shotgunned to death outside his house.

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"Within days the local police, acting on a tip-off from an anonymous informant arrest another local criminal, Pat Crehan.

"Eventually Crehan finds himself in the dock at St Albans Crown Court faced with a complex spider’s web of circumstantial evidence and the natural prejudices of the country at that time.

"Police investigator Ken Oliver, a man compromised by external pressures, leads the case. The verdict and subsequent denouement, quietly delivered, cast doubt on the entire process."

A Tale of Scorpions is published by Clink Street Publishing, and is out April 27. It is available from £8.99 online and from all good bookstores.