Nightclub bouncer Terry Massiah drew on his experiences at the door to inspire the artwork that landed him a first-class degree in fine art from Bedfordshire University.

Mr Massiah, a father of four from Luton who left school with seven O levels, worked until 2am five nights a week at a nightclub to support his family while he studied.

And it was there, dealing with alcohol-fuelled behaviour and suffering verbal abuse from punters, that he found inspiration.

"The verbal abuse you get as a bouncer and the scenes you see of people drinking have provided me with inspiration for my paintings of racial tensions and violence in America in the late 19th century and early 20th century," he said.

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He is now considering postgraduate study or teaching, which is a remarkable change in attitude for a man who feared he would be out of place at university.

"I thought that, at 32 years old, I'd be out of date and that the other students would see me as some grandad figure," he said.

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"In fact, there were students double my age."

Nonetheless he found the return to education difficult as it meant balancing family life with work and study.

"I had great tutors who encouraged me all the way, and this made a big difference to me personally," he said.

He hoped that he had set an example to his 12-year-old, nine-year-old twins and eight-year-old.

He said: "I want each one of them to go to university."

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Mr Massiah's work was snapped up by German collectors last year at an exhibition in Berlin for young artists titled Bright Young Things .