THINK of Poole and long stretches of golden sand, a bustling quayside and peaceful Poole Park come to mind. Gangland violence and a controlling local mafia does not.

But in Alan Burridge's new book The Message, all that changes. The innocent-looking Ashley Road is the scene of a particularly brutal stabbing and one of the main players in the underworld scene uses the homely Woodman pub and neighbouring Wessex Bowl as his base.

The 50-year-old author from Upton was inspired to write his fictional crime thriller when he felt the police were getting nowhere in their investigation of the Jill Dando murder.

In his book, it is the murder of high-profile and much-loved media celebrity Cathy Sphinx which has outraged the nation.

Officers from Kensington CID visit Poole to interview suspects matching the murderer's description at the same time as young unemployed woman Izzy Daniels buys a second-hand telephone answering machine containing a graphic recording of a woman being killed.

Gradually the story twists and turns from there as the police and Izzy attempt to get to the bottom of the murders and are sucked into the seedy Poole underworld.

While Poole may not have seemed an obvious setting, it makes it a fascinating read for locals, and life-long resident Alan said he enjoyed writing about his home town.

"Stephen King writes about his home town of Bangor and I thought: 'Why not try and make Poole famous if I can?'"

Barry George was arrested for the Jill Dando murder just as Alan finished his book and he shared the mood of some members of the public at the time who thought the police may have picked on an easy target.

While he is determined that his book is seen as 100 per cent fiction, the possibility of a hit man running free may strike a chord with many of George's supporters.

Alan said: "When he was arrested, I thought the police had the wrong bloke and I think many others felt the same way, despite what has come out since.

"I felt he could be a scapegoat and it incensed me that the authorities were getting absolutely nowhere in really solving the crime."

So with the motivation in place, the only problem was finding time to write. Combining writing with his job as a goods inward supervisor for TestLink Services Ltd in Poole meant weekends and evenings had to be sacrificed until The Message was completed 10 months later.

He then sent it to top-line publishers and agents but their failure to get The Message took him to the internet where he found a suitable on-line publisher.

"It was a little bit depressing being rejected but a real thrill to have someone show faith in the end. There's also an extra boost because I think I'm among the first authors who can be downloaded on paperback from the internet," he said.

Alan admits that support from his wife and two grown-up children keeps him going but support also comes from a more unlikely quarter. Lemmy from Motorhead has become something of a favourite uncle to Alan after he started running the band's worldwide fan club some 21 years ago.

"He's a fantastic bloke, a lot of the on-stage thing is image. Behind the scenes he doesn't mess about and I've never been a victim of his bad mood or outrage," he said.

The ultimate confidence boost came when Lemmy told him he had noticed a marked improvement in his writing a couple of years ago. "For him to notice and take the time to tell me was great, it was a brilliant boost."

The Message can be downloaded on your PC for £3.50, purchased on-line as an A4 book for £6.50 or as a paperback for £9.50 by logging on to e-booksonline.net. Also available by mail order from e-booksonline(UK) Ltd, Plas Newydd, Roshirwaun, Pwllheli, Gwynedd, LL53 8HS. Postage prices are included.