SPECIAL forces serviceman Matthew Robbens has given up life as a bodyguard to Hollywood stars such as Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt for family life and soft play.
The "big softie" was part of the famous "Brad and Ange" family for five years.
But most of his time now is dedicated to his family and providing a secure and fun Play Factory in Louth.
It opened last year to provide a much-needed soft play centre for families. It has also given him more time at home with his baby son Elijah and older son Ryan, rather than globetrotting with the stars.
He says the Play Factory has also turned him into "a big softie" after more than 20 years as a serviceman, including regular tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The bodyguard has headed the protection of the Jolie-Pitts and their brood, Russell Crowe and his children and Nicole Kidman.
He has also regularly been a security guard for Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, some of The Jackson brothers and Daniel Day-Lewis.
As head of the security for "Brad and Ange", Matthew was also responsible for their six children.
His exciting career has seen him work as a security guard in places such as The Ivy Restaurant in London and the haunts of the rich and famous in Moscow.
Being on the shoulder of the film industry's A-list celebrities, he has been a helpful adviser when it came to military expertise.
He advised Angelina as director of The Land Of Blood And Honey and Brad when he was in World War Z.
Matthew's training in demolition, signals radio contact with fighter jets and medical training have all come in useful.
He was also able to tell the actors how to act like a proper sniper with controlled breathing, avoid blinking and a smooth pull of the trigger, rather than snatching.
He appeared in the credits for movie, The Tourist featuring Angelina Jolie.
Few servicemen can say they have as much close protection experience as Matthew.
Among those in his charge was General Andrew Figgures, Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Equipment Capability).
While on leave, through his contacts in the military, Matthew was introduced to security specialists who provided work in between his missions with the Forces.
In 2008 he went full-time in the security industry.
It began a five-year relationship with Brad and Angelina.
He recalled them taking their children to Legoland in 2013. That was followed by more work in Cannes for the international film festival and then there was a tour in Australia.
Matthew, 46, said: "I have worked all over the world, from Asia, Cambodia and Japan to Vietnam, China and Australia."
As well as the personnel involved, Matthew was also responsible for their belongings.
He said: "With Nicole (Kidman) I travelled to India with her best friend L'Wren Scott, who tragically died last year. She was a lovely lady. It is a great shame.
"When we were in India, L'Wren had a high-value box of jewellery and I had to ensure its security as well."
It was a far cry from his upbringing in lovely Louth with brother Andrew and his parents Peter and Janet, who live at South Cockerington.
After leaving school, Matthew joined the 4 Paratroop Regiment in the Territorial Army.
From there he underwent gruelling selection for the special forces.
He survived several tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Tragically he lost around 30 of his comrades during the wars.
He was stationed in Camp Victory in Iraq when former dictator Saddam Hussein was captured and held at the camp on the outskirts of Baghdad in 2003.
Matthew treasurers a photo of him sitting in the dictator's throne.
But he is hurt at the toll the conflict took on the lives of his comrades.
After leaving the forces he joined "Team Brad and Ange" which was a team of four bodyguards and after a while he became Number One.
The four-man security was responsible for ensuring the safety of the A-list actors and their six children.
Matthew had to preside over the care given by nannies and the family's drivers.
As a Hollywood couple, their main home is in Los Angeles. But they also have properties elsewhere in the world.
Matthew had to fly ahead of their next destination to negotiate landings and access to private suites in airports or changeovers on more remote areas of airports.
That was mainly to avoid the chaos of members of the public spotting the family and demanding photos or autographs.
Most of the immigration clearance could be done smoothly and discreetly away from the gaze of fans and members of the press.
Matthew said: "None of them likes to have a pack of photographers on their backs.
"The paramount importance is the security of the individual and their family and more often it was concern for the children which took most of the effort.
"That's because you get crazy people sometimes trying to gatecrash film sets. The most intense times are on the red carpet because each of the stars has to arrive right on time and they have a limited time to have their photographs taken before the next one arrives. It has to be slick.
"There was one famous incident when someone ran on to the carpet and started firing a gun. They were blanks but it was scary. Quite often you get people rushing through simply because they want to be on the TV. Others have used sprays on the faces of the celebrities. That's why many of them wear glasses. I always carry a bottle of water in case I am hit by spray."
Matthew said one of the constant problems are the paparazzi getting snatch photos of celebrities.
He told how they often have to leave restaurants by going through the kitchens to a rear door to avoid the photographers.
Although he described most as unscrupulous in their quest for the best shot, he built up an understanding with some to ensure his clients got some privacy.
While in Venice, Brad and Ange were given some space thanks to Matthew's arrangement with the "paps".
He said: "We sometimes had a good rapport because the journalists have families themselves. But others had no scruples and would put the photos of the kids straight up on the internet."
Disillusionment with the role and the intensity of the job and his regret of missing his family at home, made Matthew think about his own future.
In January last year his partner gave birth to their baby boy Elijah.
It gave the proud father a new lease of life and he thought how he could spend more time with his family.
He said: "I was fed up and not happy with the work. I liked working with Brad and Ange and with Nicole and Russell.
"But things were not going well with work. Relationships were breaking down and I thought I could be at home more and be with the children. I had missed so much of Ryan growing up and did not want to miss Elijah growing up."
With his role in looking after the children of celebrities and taking them to play centres in whatever location the family was in, Matthew saw an opportunity.
He remembered Louth did not have an adequately sized play centre. Parents and carers in the Louth area were forced to travel to bigger towns like Grimsby and Lincoln and Skegness to find large play centres.
So Matthew set about designing his own "Play Factory".
He had help from local developer Jim Waumsley.
Matthew said: "He was really good and helped me a lot."
He told how his skills in the security services trying to design out any hidden corners or "dark spots" came to the fore in designing the Play Factory.
Matthew said: "To me a dark area was where there was the potential for there to be a photographer, a nutter or a kidnapper.
"Wherever you are, you can see the children and the fire escapes. That is how I wanted it set up because of my background and that's why people say they like it. Safety is most important and it all goes hand in hand."
Parents can relax in the comfort of being able to see their children at all times, thanks to the layout of the play equipment.
Matthew said he had mixed feelings over his new role and still nurtures a vision to become a military adviser to film producers.
He said: "It is great because I get to see my boy every day. The family like it having me around."
He received an e-mail from Brad and Ange when his son was born last year.
Matthew said: "I have been to some wonderful places and met some fantastic people.
"I even chatted to Robert De Niro in a bar when he was waiting to speak to Brad.
"I went with one of the female stars when she was invited to The Vatican to meet the previous Pope (Pope Benedict) and we saw some amazing sights of the city and the vaults.
"We were shown on to The Pope's private balcony, which is usually only reserved for kings and queens because of the magnificent view of the city."
Matthew was presented with a watch by Russell Crowe, which the actor had chosen himself with black frame and silver dials to match Matthew's hair colour.
It was a thank you to his team for their service.
Another of the team got a gold watch to reflect his brash colourful character, and another got a watch with large numbers to improve his understanding of time.
After six months in business, Matthew said the play centre was proving popular at weekends and in school holidays and with families having birthday parties and celebrations.
He hopes to boost the weekday attendances.
He continues to do keep fit and runs each day and enjoys his motorcycles.
He often takes his son Ryan climbing.
Matthew said: "Having the play centre was really strange compared to what I was doing before and the military background and here I was looking after kids. It's a bit like the film Kindergarten Cop. It is therapeutic. It was forcing me to change my personality.
"To go from all the experiences in the military to being all soft and cuddly has been quite nice."
But the scars of war remain with Matthew.
On one tour of duty at Lashkar Gah, one of the three-vehicle convoy Matthew was with was hit by an improvised explosive device killing four of his comrades.
Matthew's eldest son Ryan is named after a comrade, Leo Ryan, 36, who was killed in 2004.
To all his comrades who made the ultimate sacrifice, he regularly pays his tributes and meets fellow servicemen on The Brecon Beacons where plaques have been laid.
![Bodyguard to Nicole Kidman & other Hollywood stars now running Louth play barn]( "Bodyguard to Nicole Kidman & other Hollywood stars now running Louth play barn")
