Inside Britain’s real life Sons of Anarchy as feuding Hells Angels, Vikings & Bandidos biker gangs bring war to streets

THEY are Britain’s real life Sons of Anarchy – feuding biker gangs who unleash bloody mayhem to uphold their misplaced sense of honour. Known as One Per Centers – from the saying that 99 per cent of motorcyclists are law-abiding citizens – some trade in guns, drugs and ultra-violence. Anthony ‘Tony’ Jones, 56, was killed in a mass brawl feared to have been sparked between rival biker gangs Credit: Gwent Police The violence is believed to be part of a turf war between the Vikings Motorcycle Club and the Hells Angels Credit: Alamy The latest biker vendetta to have flared is believed to have led to the death of a South Wales grandfather this month. Anthony ‘Tony’ Jones, 56, died in hospital after what police suspect was a clash between the Vikings and Hells Angels mobs. Witnesses described the brawl outside the British Legion in Pontnewynydd, near Pontypool, in the Welsh valleys as “carnage”. Residents said around 20 men were involved in the melee with reports suggesting some were armed with machetes, axes, knives and hammers. A 40-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder. The Hells Angels and the Vikings have long been engaged in a blood feud. In October 2022, three Angels ambushed a group of Vikings on the A24 in Findon, West Sussex. The revenge attack left a man fighting for his life after he was stabbed, stamped on and beaten with a baton. In 2022, Callum Shaw ambushed a group of Vikings which left a man fighting for his life Credit: Sussex Police Barry Brown was jailed for his role in the attack where a man was stabbed, stamped on and beaten with a baton Credit: Sussex Police Daniel Kent was also caged Credit: Sussex Police The three Angels ambushed the Vikings in Findon, West Sussex Credit: EDDIE MITCHELL Three Watford-based Angels – Callum Shaw, Barry Brown and Daniel Kent – were jailed for their roles in the attack. In 2018, seven men linked to Angels and Red Devils clubs were jailed for an attack on members of the Vikings and Wargs Brotherhood clubs. They were each sentenced to 14 years behind bars. Pathological rivalries exist between other feared biker mobs. In May 2022, David Crawford – a member of the Red Chiefs Motorcycle Club – was mowed down by rival bikers on the A38 in Plymouth, Devon. The 59-year-old granddad had been spotted by three members of Bandidos Motorcycle Club who were furious that he was wearing his Red Chiefs insignia on their turf. Bandido Benjamin Parry’s Transit slammed into the back of David’s Kawasaki motorbike knocking him onto the bonnet and then under the vehicle, dragging him along the tarmac. Parry is serving a 15-year sentence. In 2024 a feuding biker left a pipe bomb under a rival’s father’s van causing a blaze outside his home in Lennoxtown, East Dunbartonshire Mad Dogs Motorcycle Club member Daniel Laponder targeted David Rollo because his son was a member of the Blue Angels Motorcycle Club. Heavily-tattooed ex-biker mob boss Dan Laponder was once a high-ranking member of Scotland’s notorious Blue Angels Motorcycle Club before a bitter fallout Members of the Blue Angels Motorcycle Club during a procession in 2020 Credit: Tom Farmer Laponder – his face a swathe of tattoos – was jailed for nine years in 2024. So why are thugs attracted to the brutal violence of the UK biker scene? And why do rivalries fester between different mobs? One biker – a former jailbird in his late thirties – previously told The Sun: “There’s a lot of ex-military in the biking community. There are also people like me who have been inside. “I think the clubs attract people who have had troubled upbringings. My background is typical really. “We craved some kind of structure. In a way the clubs provide members with a new family.” The biker from the North West – speaking on the condition of anonymity – described the savage beating he received at the hands of a rival biker mob. He revealed: “So they all had balaclavas on like the IRA. I hit the first one and he went down. “But then the rest were on me. They had tools (weapons) and just battered me. They smashed my hands to bits.” David Crawford was killed by rival gang members Credit: SWNS He was spotted wearing his ‘colours’ on Bandidos turf Credit: SWNS Breaking hands is a common punishment doled out by gangs as it means victims can’t ride their beloved bikes. Known as outlaw motorcycle clubs, biker gangs emerged as a subculture in the US in the 1940s before spreading across the globe. The first Hells Angels Motorcycle Club was founded in California in 1947 by ex-servicemen returning from the war. Their winged-skull insignia – worn on their tattered leather jackets – were copied from air force squadrons. Now the Angels are said to have a global membership of more than 6,000 bikers across almost 60 nations, including 16 regional chapters across Britain. In the sixties the bike gang’s free-spirited, rebellious attitude saw them become co-opted by the counter culture. Most famously, Ralph “Sonny” Barger led the Oakland chapter of the Hells Angels in California – a tattooed, wild-haired horde who left a trail of fear wherever they went. Barger glorified the Angels as “a very select brotherhood of men” who would “fight and die for each other”. The Hells Angels and the Vikings have long been engaged in a blood feud Credit: Alamy The British clubs have hierachies and a member who acts as the enforcer Credit: Getty In 1969, Barger and his Angels were asked to provide security at the Rolling Stones’ free concert at the Altamont Speedway in California in return for $500 in beer. Amid a vast crowd – many high on drugs – a concert goer was stabbed and beaten to death by Angels just yards from where the Stones were appearing onstage. Barger said he wasn’t involved in the incident but admitted shoving a gun into a faltering Keith Richards’ ribs and telling him “to start playing his guitar or he was dead”. The same year, two Angels chapters established themselves in London and soon they and rival groups were spreading across the country. Like the US crime drama Sons of Anarchy, which told the story of a rebel motorcycle club in California, the various British clubs organise themselves into hierarchies resembling military ranks. The gangs – with lurid names like Hells Angels, Bandidos, Mongols, Outlaws, Satan’s Slaves and Blue Angel – have a President, Treasurer and a Sergeant at Arms who acts as the club enforcer. Their uniforms are battered leather jackets bearing patches with their club’s name, its emblem and the chapter or region to which they belong. A so-called Full Patch Member – who has full voting rights in the club – swears to protect their ‘colours’ emblazoned on their leathers at all costs. Steve Mason, Dale Austin and Leslie Lamb were jailed for a combined 17 years for drugs and firearms offences Credit: Greater Manchester Police Roughneck Bandidos’ Sergeant at Arms Mason was linked to the manufacture of 3D-printed firearms Credit: Greater Manchester Police Simmering turf wars that fester beneath the surface of everyday society sometimes explode the public gaze. The mutual loathing between the Bandidos and the Hells Angels in Greater Manchester spilled into the open shortly before midnight on August 22, 2020, when a Peugeot car crashed into a building in Cadishead, Salford. A member of the public called 999 and reported what appeared to be a routine traffic accident. But when cops began investigating they discovered the property was actually the clubhouse of the local Hells Angels chapter. The ram raid had been carried out by the Bandidos after Angels members had “disrespected” them earlier the same day. The Angels had travelled to their bitter rivals’ turf and taunted them by gathering close to their clubhouse in Chester Road, Trafford. The Bandidos weren’t there at the time but, nevertheless, plotted revenge and executed the ram raid attack. It would lead to a five-year police investigation into the Bandidos’ criminality. Roughneck Bandidos’ Sergeant at Arms Steve Mason, 36, his face heavily tattooed – was linked to the manufacture of 3D-printed firearms and was jailed for nine years. His associate Dale Austin, 31, not a biker gang member, admitted possession of a prohibited firearm and being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs and received a six-year jail sentence.. The brains behind the revenge attack, Bandidos member Leslie Lamb, 43, admitted criminal damage and cultivating cannabis, and was jailed for 27 months. Salford Detective Constable Mike Armstrong-Porter – who is now retired – described the feud as “a real-world Sons of Anarchy dispute between two motorcycle clubs with a real disliking to each other”. The anonymous biker who spoke to The Sun added: “I have seen it all. Fighting, knives, everything. Close friends of mine have been stabbed to bits. All biker related.” But he added: “For me it’s all about the riding. I have three Harleys and they are pure joy. “I can’t describe the feeling of riding with a sunset behind you, or racing trying to stay ahead of the rain.” It’s a romantic notion from the brutal biker world that is drenched in blood.