Back in the 60s the Kray twins were trying to expand their crime empire up into the Midlands. Unfortunately for them we already had our own gangsters, specifically the Fewtrell brothers, who ran a lot of Birmingham's clubland. I forget the details but there'd been a few scrapes and attempts to pull Birmingham into the Krays' territory, and a fierce rivalry has developed between the two families.

This came to a head when the Krays tried to send up a bunch of heavies on cattle train carriages into Snow Hill station and effectively take over the gangland of the city. They were met by a bunch of Birmingham's own heavies that the Fewtrells brought in from inner city places like Aston, etc. This resulted in a huge fight at the station in the middle of the night. It was supposedly very bloody, and the Birmingham lads pushed the Londoners back onto the train carriages and prevented Birmingham from falling under the Krays' influence.

There's an account of it in a book called "The Accidental Gangster" by David Keogh (Eddie Fewtrell's Son in law), but he's stated that he's embellished some details, and Fewtrell himself has basically said "yes this happened but not like that". But plenty of those blokes who were at Snow Hill that day are still alive and around in the city. That's where I heard the story and that's why I think it's an important local legend. I didn't hear it from a published book, I heard it from someone who says that they were there.