Canoeist caper lands 'dead' man in hot water

It is possibly one of the most bizarre crime stories ever, yesterday papers and newscasts were telling the amazing story of John Darwin's return from being 'dead' after five years missing but today he is facing fraud charges.

Darwin, 57, went missing while canoeing off the coast of Hartlepool in March 2002 and was presumed to be dead. However, he walked into a police station at the weekend, claiming to remember nothing since 2000. Today, Mr Darwin was arrested on suspicion of fraud at his son's home. A national newspaper, theDaily Mirror, published a photo allegedly showing Mr Darwin and his wife, Anna, in Panama. It claimed that the photo was taken last year in an rented apartment. Meanwhile, Mrs Darwin told another paper, the Daily Mail, that she had claimed on her husband's life insurance 'in good faith'. She now faces the prospect of at least questioning and possibly extradition from her home in Panama. Police are now looking to track Darwin's movements for the last five years in an investigation they have described as 'surreal'.