Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh has revealed he had a criminal record at the age of eight.

The Scottish writer, 59, said he and a group of friends were arrested while having a game of football in front of some flats in the Muirhouse area of the city.

They were taken to court, accompanied by their “outraged, disbelieving parents”, and given a fine.

Writing about the experience in The Guardian, Welsh described it as “educative and exciting”.

He said: “My first exposure to the law came when I was eight years old.

He added: “At first we were terrorised, thinking we were going to jail. Then we swaggered around, revelling in our ludicrous bad boy status.”