Former Glasgow gangland figure turned author Paul Ferris will be laid to rest today, less than two weeks after his death aged 62.
Family and friends are expected to gather at Daldowie Crematorium on Monday, 19 October, for the funeral of the man whose life in Glasgow’s criminal underworld was later turned into the film The Wee Man.
Ferris died on 6 October following a short illness. Official records subsequently showed that he died at University Hospital Ayr after being admitted to hospital two days earlier.
His death certificate listed multiple organ failure alongside decompensated alcoholic liver disease.
Ahead of today’s service, his family has asked people wishing to pay their respects to consider donating to The Invisibles, a volunteer-run organisation which supports people experiencing homelessness and hardship in Glasgow.
The group carries out outreach work in Glasgow city centre, providing food, hot drinks, clothing, toiletries and other essentials.
A statement issued on behalf of Ferris’s family said they hoped donations could turn “a time of sadness into an opportunity to help others”.
Ferris grew up in Blackhill in Glasgow and became associated with Arthur “The Godfather” Thompson Snr during the 1980s.
His name became known across Scotland after he was charged with the murder of Thompson’s son, Arthur Thompson Jnr, who was shot dead in Glasgow in 1991.
Ferris was unanimously acquitted of the murder at the High Court in Glasgow in 1992 following a 54-day trial involving hundreds of witnesses.
He was later convicted at the Old Bailey in 1998 over offences involving firearms and explosives. His original ten-year sentence was reduced to seven years.
Ferris subsequently maintained that he had left his criminal life behind and reinvented himself as an author and businessman.
He wrote a series of books about his experiences, including The Ferris Conspiracy, and his life became the basis for the 2013 film The Wee Man.
Line of Duty actor Martin Compston played Ferris in the film, which followed his childhood in Glasgow and his involvement in the city’s criminal underworld.
Ferris continued to attract public interest throughout his later life and had been working on further film and podcast projects before his death.