Darwin files 'harassment' complaint

John Darwin, the canoeist who "returned from the dead", has complained to police that the family of a dead baby whose identity he stole as part of his fraud has been harassing him.

Durham Police said it did not believe a crime had been committed by the Jones family in Sunderland, which was dragged into the case of John and Anne Darwin.

In 2002, Mr Darwin staged his own death in a canoe accident in the North Sea. He lived in secret, even from his sons, and after insurance policies paid out on his "death", he and his wife, Anne, set up a new life in Panama. After resurfacing in the UK in 2007, claiming amnesia, he was jailed for deception.

Now living in Easington Colliery in County Durham, he has complained about harassment since his release from prison earlier this year. It was understood that members of the Jones family had left a letter for Mr Darwin at his new home.

A spokeswoman for the Durham force said: "We can confirm we have received a complaint of harassment of a man from the Easington Colliery area. Initial inquiries suggest no offence has been committed."

Mr Darwin stole the identity of a premature baby John Jones, who died after only a few weeks in 1950. His brother Alf, from Pallion, Sunderland, said he went to see Mr Darwin to get some answers. Mr Jones, speaking to the Sunderland Echo, denied harassing Mr Darwin.