The real story behind Brink’s-Mat: Britain’s biggest heist

The Gold

The real story that inspired the BBC drama, The Gold 
 
On Saturday, 26 November 1983, an armed gang stole gold bullion worth almost £26 million from the Brink's-Mat security depot near London's Heathrow Airport. It was the largest robbery in world history, and only the start of an extraordinary story. For forty years, myths and legends have grown around the Brink's-Mat heist and the events that followed. 
 
The heist led to a wave of international money laundering, provided dirty money that helped fuel the London Docklands property boom, caused seismic changes in both British crime and policing, and has been linked to a series of deaths that continued until 2015. 
 
The Gold is the conclusion of extensive research and includes exclusive testimony from one of the original robbers who gives his version of events for the first time. The result is the astonishing true story of the robbery of the century.

Neil Forsyth (Author) Neil Forsyth is a screenwriter and author. He has written seven books, and created a number of television shows, including the critically acclaimed, BAFTA-winning drama Guilt. He is the writer and creator of The Gold, the BBC dramatisation of the Brink's-Mat story. Thomas Turner (Author) Thomas Turner is a writer and historian of popular culture. He has written two books. Educated at the universities of Oxford and London, he teaches history and cultural studies in London. He provides research for television projects and was the researcher for the BBC drama The Gold.

Your Guide to a Wonderful Life

Ask Bob

Bob Servant, Hero of Dundee and Bard of Broughty Ferry, has spent ten years answering the problems of his many fans around the world. Finally, after repeated requests, he distills his unique philosophy into one compelling volume of wise advice. No subject is off limits as Bob Servant acts as your unique guide to a truly wonderful life. 
 
Praise for Bob Servant: 
 
'Bob rocks the discotheque. And when the discotheque happens to be in Broughty Ferry, he double rocks it.' - Irvine Welsh 
 
'Bob tells it like it is. And like it isn't. And like it never will be. You'll wet yourself. I did.' - John Niven 
 
'Bob Servant is the funniest thing to happen in books since Spike Milligan.' - Dan Rhodes

Neil Forsyth is a screenwriter and author. He has written seven books, and created a number of television shows, including the critically acclaimed, BAFTA-winning drama Guilt. He is the writer and creator of The Gold, the BBC dramatisation of the Brink's-Mat story.

BBC TV and Radio's Bob Servant, self-styled 'hero of Dundee', addresses life's problems for you, and offers practical solutions you won't find anywhere else.

San Carlos

Trust no one... 
 
A gripping, high-octane novel exploring the dark side of the sunshine island

Now and then a novel creeps up on you, grabs you by the neck and gives you a thoroughly good shaking…a stylish period thriller

A pacy, unpretentious thriller with themes of redemption and revenge and well-drawn, memorable characters

Thoroughly enjoyable...utterly absorbing, and the setting is so good you can practically feel the sun on your neck

It's 1989. 
 
The Witness Protection Scheme pays you £180.75 a week. 
 
You're living a life that isn't working under a name that isn't yours. Ibiza offers escape. 
 
You meet a woman with a story. Along comes your past.

Bob Servant Hero Of Dundee

Cyber hero Bob Servant became a cult classic in the best-selling Delete This At Your Peril. Now this much-anticipated sequel tells the life story of one of Scotland's unsung heroes. From his days in the Merchant Navy to his creation of a window-cleaning round and his time as a cheeseburger magnate, Bob Servant has lived life to its fullest. With touching bravery, he takes the listener on a fearless romp through the hilarious, whimsical and impassioned memories that surely make him the undisputed Hero of Dundee.

The Bob Servant Emails: A BBC Radio Dramatisation starring Brian Cox

Brian Cox stars as the 63-year-old Servant in these wickedly funny full-cast email exchanges

Brian Cox stars as the 63-year-old Servant in these wickedly funny full-cast email exchangesBorn and bred in Dundee, Bob Servant sees himself as the people's champion. Once a cheeseburger magnate and part of what he claims to be 'the largest window cleaning round in Western Europe', he's now retired and feeling a little bored. After winning a computer in the bowling club raffle, and only ever receiving spam emails, he decides to take on this plague of the electronic age…This complete series features the anarchic exchanges between Bob and the unwitting spam merchants who flood his inbox. As they offer him Russian brides, African fortunes, and get-rich-quick scams, he turns the tables by thinking up some outlandish schemes of his own. Playing the fraudsters at their own game, he soon has them in the palm of his hand.Starring Brian Cox as Bob Servant, and featuring a stellar ensemble cast including Felix Dexter, Laura Solon, Sanjeev Kohli and Lewis MacLeod.Cast and Credits 
Starring Brian Cox as Bob Servant 
with Felix Dexter, Laura Solon, Sanjeev Kohli and Lewis MacLeod 
Written by Neil Forsyth 
Directed by Marilyn Imrie 
Produced by Owen Bell 
 First broadcast BBC Radio Scotland, 29 October-3 December 2010©2012 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2012 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Neil Forsyth (Author) 
Neil Forsyth is a screenwriter and author. He has written seven books, and created a number of television shows, including the critically acclaimed, BAFTA-winning drama Guilt. He is the writer and creator of The Gold, the BBC dramatisation of the Brink's-Mat story.

Brian Cox stars as the 63-year-old Servant in these wickedly funny full-cast email exchangesBorn and bred in Dundee, Bob Servant sees himself as the people's champion. Once a cheeseburger magnate and part of what he claims to be 'the largest window cleaning round in Western Europe', he's now retired and feeling a little bored. After winning a computer in the bowling club raffle, and only ever receiving spam emails, he decides to take on this plague of the electronic age…This complete series features the anarchic exchanges between Bob and the unwitting spam merchants who flood his inbox. As they offer him Russian brides, African fortunes, and get-rich-quick scams, he turns the tables by thinking up some outlandish schemes of his own. Playing the fraudsters at their own game, he soon has them in the palm of his hand.Starring Brian Cox as Bob Servant, and featuring a stellar ensemble cast including Felix Dexter, Laura Solon, Sanjeev Kohli and Lewis MacLeod.Cast and Credits 
Starring Brian Cox as Bob Servant 
with Felix Dexter, Laura Solon, Sanjeev Kohli and Lewis MacLeod 
Written by Neil Forsyth 
Directed by Marilyn Imrie 
Produced by Owen Bell 
 First broadcast BBC Radio Scotland, 29 October-3 December 2010 
 ©2012 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2012 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Neil Forsyth

Elliot Castro

The rise and fall of Britain’s most audacious fraudster

The true story behind the BBC documentary Confessions of a Teenage Fraudster 
 
'The crime of fraud, when conducted well, is a fascinating pursuit. It&rsquo;s a test of intellect, determination and stamina. It is a floating mess of fact and fiction that you have to carry in your mind for twenty-four hours a day. It can be used to realize dreams, to slip on any mask required.&rsquo; 
 
Elliot Castro was just a teenager when he began to use his formidable intelligence and charm to swindle millions from the credit card system. No outside individual has ever pulled off this scale of fraudulent activity. But the money wasn&rsquo;t funding an addiction or other criminal enterprises; Elliot was simply a working-class kid with no qualifications who wanted to see the world. From London to New York, Ibiza to Beverly Hills, Castro lived a fantasy life. He stayed in famous hotels, travelled first class and blew a small fortune on designer clothes and champagne. 
 
Time after time, Elliot managed to wriggle free of the authorities while his life spiralled out of control. As he juggled aliases, and lied to family and friends, he began to lose his grip on reality. Meanwhile, a detective from Heathrow Police Station was patiently tracking him down. It would soon turn into 
an international manhunt. 
 
In Other People&rsquo;s Money, Neil Forsyth chronicles Elliot&rsquo;s extraordinary journey. A gripping tale of charm and deceit, filled with humour and heart-stopping suspense, this true story offers a fascinating insight into the mind of Britain&rsquo;s most audacious, and friendliest, credit card fraudster.

Neil Forsyth

Books by Neil Forsyth

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