Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs dead at 84

British criminal Ronnie Biggs, who was part of the gang which took £2.6m from the Glasgow to London mail train in 1963, died on Wednesday.

15:43 18 December 2013

Great train robber Ronnie Biggs, who was part of the gang that took £2.6m (the equivalent of £40m in today's money) from the Glasgow to London mail train in 1963, died on Wednesday after suffering from series of strokes.

At the time of his death, he was being cared for at the Carlton Court Care Home in East Barnet, north London.

Biggs was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the crime but he escaped after serving just 15 months.

Initially, he fled to Paris with his wife, Charmian and two sons, Farley and Chris.

He was arrested in 1974 in Brazil by Chief Superintendent Jack Slipper of Scotland Yard. However, he was not extradited after he successfully argued that he had fathered a son by his Brazilian girlfriend, Raimunda.

In 2001, he returned to the UK claiming to need medical assistance but instead of going to the hospital, he was sent to prison. However, he was released on compassionate grounds in 2009 after contracting pneumonia.