Born in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, Carl grew up in the sleepy town of Daventry, Northamptonshire where he was educated before moving down to London to complete a degree in literature and philoisophy at Thames Polytechnic (now University of Greenwich). After gaining a 2:1 honours degree he then began his career as a journalist on local newspapers in Northamptonshire and took up a number of senior positions at regional newspapers across the country including Bedfordshire on Sunday and the Derby Evening Telegraph. In 1997 he helped set up the editorial side as News Editor  for the succesful Page One Press Agency based in Nottingham and spend three years providing news from the East Midlands for all the major national and international publications. In 2000 carl went freelance covering the same geographical area for the national newspapers and broadcast outlets including BBC. His work has attracted significant attention in the Sunday Times, Guardian, Sunday Telegraph and Daily Mail and his work on Undercover Prisoner, a documentary focusing on weaknesses  within the prison system for the Channel 4 Dispatches series resulted in a nomination for a Royal Television Society award. In 2008 his first book Hoods, brought wide acclaim for highlighting the problems of street gangs, organised crime and gun crime within the East Midlands. Carl continues with his crime based media projects and is currently working on his second book which will illuminate the world of money laundering and organised crime.