Canvey Island’s tidal mudflats lie at the edge of the Thames estuary, 30 miles east of London. It was here among the reclaimed fields and creeks that Jack King, a shed salesman from Romford, moved his young family in the early 1960s. The entrepreneur and football fanatic bought a failing caravan holiday park from the council and turned it into a successful mobile home business, Kings Park, which he sold for £32 million in 2007. It sealed the family’s fortunes.
His son Graham was determined to follow in his father’s footsteps. He spent years working for Jack — who also owned a taxi company and a car dealership as well as nightclubs hosting performers including Shirley Bassey and Tommy Cooper — before striking out on
