Prince William’s friend Pastor Mick Fleming reveals childhood horror when his sister died aged 20 the day after he was raped by a stranger in a park
A former drug dealer who became a pastor before making friends with Prince William has revealed how nearly dying made him turn his life around.
Pastor Mick Fleming, who is a friend of the Prince and Princess of Wales, worked as a drug runner and debt collector and was once arrested on suspicion of murder.
Now 59, the former gangland criminal enforcer has opened up about his past life for his new book Walk In My Shoes, due to be released in early March.
Speaking exclusively to Femail, Mick said that he grew up in a ‘loving’ working class family but things changed when he was attacked and raped by a stranger aged 11 while walking to school.
His sister, Ann, died the following day from a heart attack at only 20 years old, and this then plunged him into a life of crime and substance abuse.
Mick was clean for about a year when he came across his attacker 30 years later in a McDonald’s restaurant and ‘plotted to kill him’ – but he heard a voice questioning why he was living in sin.
Since then, Mick studied theology at the University of Manchester and dedicated his life to helping others as a pastor, along with setting up his charity, Church on the Street which was visited by the Prince and Princess of Wales.
Two years ago, he had a massive heart attack, which led him to nearly dying.
He told Femail: ‘I became euphoric, it was such a strange feeling because I was happy to be dying, I [thought] maybe I’d be able to see God and how wonderful that is.
In his new book, Walk In My Shoes, due to be released in early March, Pastor Mick opened up about a ‘massive’ heart attack he had two years ago
Pastor Mick Fleming is pictured with Prince William and Princess Kate in January 2022
Mick – who helps criminals who want to leave their old lives behind – is pictured with his father
‘Then my missus said “But Mick, I don’t want you to die” and then I realised how selfish I was being. It wasn’t how I expected to feel if someone told me that.’
‘The feeling I was going to die or would die wasn’t scary or sad. I was singing with joy on the ward.’
A passage from his new book reads that Mick was ‘overtaken by a feeling of ecstasy and a song burst out of me, like I had no control over it’.
He kept singing: ‘Bless the Lord, oh my soul, oh, oh, oh my soul. I worship your holy name.’
Mick said he repeated the same lyric over and over again, getting louder each time as he felt a ‘strange kind of freedom, far beyond human knowing’.
He added: ‘It was like an experience I never had. I’ve taken every drug known to man and I’ve taken every chemical you can take to induce a euphoric experience and it didn’t even come close to how I felt when I thought I was going to see my maker.
‘It was off the scales. It wasn’t a white light shining, it was much bigger than that, much more powerful and stronger. It was an absolute certainty that I was going to go to this place that was everything, pure love.
‘I felt like I really could’ve walked on water. I remember having conversations with people, saying things I felt like I shouldn’t have known. It was an amazing experience, I’ve never had anything like it in my life.
‘If that’s a near-death experience then I’m ready to die.’
Mick said he found out about his medical emergency by luck and doctors told him that he had blood clots in his arteries (pictured with his friend BBC journalist Ed Thomas)
The 59-year-old from Burnley, Lancashire, is a former gangland criminal enforcer-turned-pastor who worked as a drug runner and debt collector
Pastor Mick Fleming is pictured with royal guards at Buckingham Palace during a garden party
But he hasn’t always been comfortable with death, adding that he has felt suicidal several times in his life, starting from when he was traumatised as a child.
As he was involved in a life of crime, many of Mick’s friends died in their late teens, which culminated in him thinking that he wasn’t going to live long either.
One of his pals had killed themselves and another overdosed on chemicals after they broke into a chemist and took substances.
Mick also said that one of his closest friends choked on his own vomit after they went out drinking aged 16, and another was stabbed to death.
‘There were times when I actually craved death. If there was any tension or anything wasn’t working out for me, instead of being able to process it, my thoughts and my feelings were “I just need to die”.’
This led to a suicide attempt when Mick was in a psychiatric ward just before he got clean from drugs and alcohol.
‘I failed and thank god I failed,’ he said.
Mick discusses his grandfather’s suicide in the book, adding that he passed away with rosary beads in his hands.
But because his family were devout Catholics, suicide was a sin and his grandmother wouldn’t allow for her husband’s name to be mentioned in the house.
Mick said: ‘She lived in shame, but prayed for mercy for him for the rest of her life. I never knew him, but I love him, I know him; he’s me and I’m him.’
He also speaks about the people he’s helped, one of which is a ‘megastar’ who Mick met when she was working as a prostitute.
The pastor does not reveal the identity of the woman but says she is a ‘world famous star.’
Mick is pictured with his family and friends at his graduation, where he achieved a 2:1 degree in Theology from Manchester University
Mick said he found out about his medical emergency by luck and doctors told him that he had blood clots in his arteries
Pastor Mick is pictured with his mother as a toddler (left) and dancing with her when she is older
Mick Fleming was once arrested on suspicion of murder although never charged
The pair lost touch put she then reached out to him after their encounter when she saw pictures of Mick at the Buckingham Palace garden party.
Mick was shocked at how she had turned her life around and didn’t even recognise her when she first reached out.
The minister has met the royal family on several occasions and even had Prince William write the foreword for his first book.
The Prince and Princess of Wales, who were then the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge met Mick in 2022 when they visited his charity, Church on the Street.
He set up the organisation in 2019 to help the homeless and people living in some form of poverty in Burnley and the surrounding area.
Speaking of the Waleses, he said: ‘They’re sound. They helped me in a lot of respects with getting mental health teams into the church and they made it happen.
‘They’re lovely. I got to pray for them both. I have nothing but respect for them.
Mick said that he grew up in a ‘loving’ working class family but things changed when he was attacked and raped aged 11 while walking to school
‘It was a lovely experience [praying for them]. They need prayers but I wouldn’t want to be them. I wouldn’t want to be under so much scrutiny.
‘It’s very difficult for them, they can’t even be sick in peace, it must be so difficult to live like that and bring a family up.
‘We sent our best regards on email [when we found out Kate had cancer]. My wife was recovering from cancer when the Prince and Princess came so when Kate got cancer it struck a little chord when you have a personal experience.
‘My ex-wife also died of cancer. When you meet someone famous and it strikes a chord as you’re all human, it doesn’t matter who and what you are, sickness is sickness and sometimes these are things that bind us together and make us the same. Cancer is cancer, whether you’re rich or poor.
‘It made me feel emotional that this beautiful woman, a Princess in a palace, [had cancer]. It makes us realise that we’re not God, we don’t get to choose things.
Reminiscing about the garden party he attended at Buckingham Palace, the pastor said he couldn’t quite believe that he was in such close proximity to King Charles and Lionel Richie.
He added: ‘There was a time when one policeman couldn’t speak to me on his own. If one policeman was in my presence they had to radio through every 20 seconds. So when I’m getting let into Buckingham Palace, coming from that to this, the change was like wow, a bizarre, proud moment.’
Nowadays, Mick gets contacted by criminals who are wanting to change their life around for the better.
The minister has met the royal family on several occasions and even had Prince William write the foreword for his first book
Prince William wrote Pastor Mick’s forewood (pictured in Paris, France holding one of his books)
He recently met with a man who came out of prison after spending 11 years in jail and is now on a course offered by Mick’s charity to help him readjust to the outside world.
Mick also says he’s been requested by criminals serving long sentences who he used to be connected to, as they are in need of his guidance.
‘My sister would’ve wished me dead for what I was like and now she comes to the church where I preach and that’s a huge difference,’ he said.
‘There are still high profile criminals who will contact me and they want to know how they change. Their head is done in and usually it’s to do with anxiety or mental health, they can’t cope.
‘They’re really rich but dangerous people but they don’t know what to do. They don’t know how to get out of it, how to change or what to do.
‘I think they can say things to me that they can’t say to anybody else.’
