A former heroin addict who was jailed 40 times says he turned his life around after having to say goodbye to his dying mother over a prison phone.

Over the past decade Daniel Jay Grossett has been in and out of 10 jails having committed countless thefts and burglaries.

But after losing his mother to cancer, he decided he had to change for good.

Now sober and a published author, Dan is hoping to share his experiences to help other people like him leave the murky life of crime and drugs behind them.

The 35-year-old, from Maidstone, grew up in Brixton, south London, living with his mum, sister and three brothers.

However, at the age of 10 he says his mum started to drink and smoke crack cocaine.

"It was a rough area," Dan explained. "She was my best friend and even though she drank and smoked, we always had a family home.

"She never put us in jeopardy and always loved us."

When he turned 12, Dan developed an addiction to cannabis which spiralled into an unhealthy drug obsession with crack cocaine, heroin and spice throughout his entire adult life.

"When I started smoking my grades dropped and I stopped going to school," he added.

"I was hanging out on the streets at 15, doing the odd little robbery here and there, but I always had a conscience.

"At 17, one of my mum’s friends gave me a bunch of crack to hold onto because I didn’t smoke it.

"I was in my room thinking ‘what’s so intriguing about this that everyone likes?’ I tried it and that was it.

"A year later we gave up our house and I became homeless, staying here and there."

Three months before Dan turned 21, he was convicted for robbery.

For the next 12 years, he would be in and out of jail more than 40 times.

The ex-convict has spent time in a variety of A, B and C category prisons, including Thameside, Belmarsh and Winchester, as well as Elmley and Standford Hill on Sheppey.

He added: "Drugs, prison, come back home, get clean, drugs, prison – it was a whole cycle.

"First day back out I would take drugs straight away, then whenever my money ran out I would be back to committing crimes.

"Sometimes I would be shoplifting that same day. The crimes were there to fund my habit.

"Most of it was shoplifting, theft or the odd burglary. Obviously there was a victim, but I always tried to have a conscience.

"I tried to limit things that would hurt people and take from shops that could easily replace things. I know it wasn't good."

After moving to Snodland with his partner in October 2018, Dan continued to commit crimes.

In August 2019, KentOnline reported how he stole from a number of service stations, supermarkets and cars parked around Holborough Lakes.

At Maidstone Crown Court he was sentenced to one year and 16 days imprisonment and was ordered to pay compensation of more than £1,000 to his victims.

However it was in June the following year when his life completely changed.

While serving time in HMP Rochester, Dan received a call that his 55-year-old mum had throat cancer and didn't have long left to live.

"I had to say goodbye to her down the phone," he recalled. "She couldn’t speak, but I felt her emotion through the phone.

"Something that really hurt me was that I couldn’t say goodbye to her face. Three days later my brother rang and told me she had passed.

"Twenty-seven years I lived with her, we were very close. I realised at that moment that life is too short.

"I felt like if I had died then, I would feel like I had wasted my life."

"Something that really hurt me was that I couldn’t say goodbye to her face. Three days later my brother rang and told me she had passed."

Dan even had to attend his mum's funeral in handcuffs.

After completing his sentence, the 35-year-old committed to changing himself.

He began writing day-by-day, gradually weaning himself off 'spice' – a plant-based drug coated with synthetic chemicals which he used in prison.

The ex-convict started volunteering at the Hepatitis C Trust and Hungry Hearts for the Homeless, a Maidstone charity that helped him through his addiction.

After two years, Dan published a book on his life story and now hopes that his experience will help others.

The preview reads: "I was a shoplifting, needle-injecting heroin addict with drug-induced psychotic episodes walking the streets of London half-naked.

"Now, I’m a sober, published author, and heaven is the only word that describes the sentiment I regularly feel."

The book details the author's "crazy dramas" while in prison, his pathway to redemption and even his chance encounter with Britain's biggest rapper Stormzy outside a south London cafe.

He describes it as a "no-holds-barred" take on the lessons he learned and the skills you can apply to escape a life of crime and start living the life you want.

Dan has also released a shorter self-help book, called 'How To Become Streetwise', which is free to read on Amazon.

Heaven or Hell: A True South London Story is now available to buy.