A former Isle of Wight police officer quit the force to pursue a career in writing and is now one of Britain's best-selling, self-published authors.

Richard Haywood, or RR Haywood to his fans, turned his "enjoyment" of taking criminal statements, into penning fan favourite fiction books.

The 47-year-old now has his eyes set on transforming his stories into films or TV shows.

Success as an author was not always a guarantee for Richard, though. In 2012, he wrote seven short novels as a way to "teach" himself how to write.

The first book he penned was The Undead Day One.

But his writing did not receive the reception he was hoping for.

"Nobody read them. And those that did, didn't like them", he told the County Press.

"The grammar and punctuation were terrible."

But, coming from a policing background, he said he was "thick skinned".

He took the feedback onboard, combined the novels and turned them into best-selling zombie apocalypse book, The Undead: Seven Days.

His sci-fi book, Extraction, soon followed, and after it became a "massive hit", Richard decided it was time to take a career break from the force.

Isle of Wight County Press:

Despite "adoring" the job, he never went back, and the author, who moved to the Island from Birmingham when he was eight, is now preparing to publish his 26th book in the Undead series.

He has also just topped the book charts again with his latest release, adventure novel Fiction Land.

Such is the success of his writing, Richard has even had actor Colin Morgan and former Game of Thrones star Gethin Anthony voice audiobook versions of his work.

And then there is the film and TV interest.

"I've had loads", he said.

"A company took Extracted straight away but Covid hit.

"Every single book is at various stages, very early stages, of being made into a TV show or a movie."

He told the County Press he tries to name the Island in every book, even if it is a passing mention.

His latest, so far unnamed book is set in Ryde.

"I just love the history there and I love the buildings and the fact it used to be so grand in Victorian times."

Richard now has more than 40 books to his name and he has no plans to stop there.