A Hornchurch born ex-West Ham football hooligan has recalled the fights he would have at matches and said his toughest rivals were Millwall FC.

Bill Gardner, rose to fame in the 1970s and 80s when football hooliganism was rife, but now the 67-year-old claims he is a “family man”.

On episode 204 of the Anything Goes with James English podcast he speaks openly about his troubled childhood.

He recalls that his mother abused him in “every shape and form” and that he was forced to live on the streets after she came at him and his father with a bread knife.

Bill lived in a church graveyard in Aldgate for 10 months, he joked: “I ate more HP beans out of the can most probably than the beans they put in at the factory.”

He explained how he found family in his mates at West Ham, adding: “I was seven years old when I fell in love with West Ham.

“My dad was a Spurs fan and used to take me to Tottenham in 1961, but I never felt comfortable there.

“We’d go Tottenham one-week West Ham another, I think he would only take me to West Ham to get me away from my mother.”

Bill said that he wasn’t a “hooligan” or a “gangster” but a “survivor” and admitted to enjoying the fighting and competition.

Explaining to the podcast that Millwall FC were his toughest opponents he said that there would be “more than 300 on each side”.

Bill added: “You know what I mean, when we went over there they used to all turn out and I’ve got nothing but respect for them, I think they are all alright.

“I used to always go for the one at the front who was the mouthy one. I used to go for that one because I believed that you cut the tree at the bottom, the tree will fall.”

After being arrested in 1987 Bill said that he knew it was time to stop. “I thought, you don’t need this anymore...and if you carry on, you’ll either end up dead or mad," he said.

He added: "Once the adrenalin goes, anyone will tell you who’s involved in any fighting or sport, the adrenalin is what keeps you going and it doesn’t matter if you are hurt, you don’t feel hurt at the time because the adrenalin keeps you going.”