Canoeist's father to leave North

Feb 5 2008 By Graeme Whitfield

The County Durham father of back-from-the-dead canoeist John Darwin is to leave the area when he is released from hospital, it has been revealed.

Ronald Darwin, 91, has been in hospital since Boxing Day with pneumonia and is in poor health after suffering a stroke 20 years ago.

Mr Darwin lives in Blackhall Rocks, near Hartlepool, but will move to Barnet, north London, to stay with his other son, David.

John Darwin’s aunt, Margaret Burns, said on Tuesday: ``He has recovered from pneumonia and is ready for discharge now and will go to stay with his son in London."

When asked about Ronald Darwin’s health, she replied: ``What do you expect when someone’s 91?"

John Darwin, 57, disappeared in 2002 from his home in Seaton Carew and was believed to have drowned while canoeing in the North Sea until he walked in to a London police station last December.

He and his wife, Anne, have been charged with obtaining more than £200,000 by deception.

The couple are due to appear via video link at Hartlepool Magistrates’ Court on Friday, February 15.