Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs has died at the age of 84 after years of ill health, Sky sources say.
British fugitive criminal Great Train Robber Ronald (Ronnie) Biggs in 1965. Source: News Limited
RONNIE Biggs, famous for his part in the Great Train Robbery of 1963, has died at the age of 84.
The notorious criminal spent decades on the run after breaking out of prison, and returned to Britain in 2001.
He suffered from poor health in his last few years, and died in the early hours of this morning, according to Sky News.
IN PICTURES: RONNIE BIGGS
Biggs was part of a gang that robbed a Glasgow to London mail train in 1963.
British fugitive criminal Great Train Robber Ronald (Ronnie) Biggs with Detective Superintendent Jack Slipper and Detective Inspector Peter Jones after his arrest 1974. Source: News Limited
Biggs, who could not speak due to his strokes and communicated through a spelling board, said in 2009 he had no regrets.
"If you want to ask me if I have any regrets about being one of the train robbers, my answer is, 'No'.
"I will go further: I am proud to have been one of them. I am equally happy to be described as the 'tea-boy' or 'The Brain'.
"I was there that August night and that is what counts. I am one of the few witnesses - living or dead - to what was 'The Crime of the Century'."
He did admit to some regrets.
"It is regrettable, as I have said many times, that the train driver was injured," he said.
He was last seen in public in March at the funeral of Bruce Reynolds who masterminded the audacious robbery.
Ronnie Biggs, notorious for his role in the Great Train Robbery of 1963 arrives to attend the funeral of the mastermind of the robbery, Bruce Reynolds. Picture: AFP Source: AFP
The gang pounced shortly after 3am as the train passed through the Buckinghamshire countryside close to Cheddington.
The train driver Jack Mills was struck with an iron bar and never worked again.
Biggs was jailed for his part in the robbery itself but escaped from jail after serving just 15 months of a 30-year sentence.
He escaped by scaling a prison wall and leaping on to the roof of a furniture van.
He avoided British justice for almost 40 years, mainly living in Brazil and Australia.
A poster of British fugitive criminal Great Train Robber Ronald (Ronnie) Biggs, which was circulated by South Australian police. Source: News Limited
Biggs lived under an assumed identity in Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne for four years.
When authorities started closing in, he moved to Brazil.
Signature and fingerprints of British fugitive criminal Great Train Robber Ronald (Ronnie) Biggs from 1965. Source: News Limited
With no extradition agreement between the UK and Brazil, he flaunted his freedom before he voluntarily returned home in 2001 for treatment.
Biggs was taken from Norwich prison to hospital.
Convicted train robber Ronnie Biggs leaves Chiswick Police Station on his way to court in 2001. He was granted a release by British Justice Secretary Jack Straw on compassionate grounds in 2009. Source: News Limited
In 2009, he was granted compassionate release from his prison sentence after suffering pneumonia.
Biggs's release, dubbed his "final escape" in the UK, divided opinion.
The train drivers' union was among those to hit out at Biggs for dodging his sentence, lacking remorse and profiting from his notoriety.
British fugitive criminal Great Train Robber Ronald (Ronnie) Biggs being kissed with son Michael on their way back to Britain. Picture: Supplied Source: News Limited
In his 2011 biography, Biggs said he believed the public saw him as a "lovable rogue".
While on the run for 35 years, he did attract some popularity for his ingenuity in evading capture and for cheekily thumbing his nose at the law from sun-soaked beaches.
Great Train Robber Ronald "Ronnie" Biggs lying on the beach. Source: News Limited
In 2011, Biggs apologised to his Australian family and expressed regret for never having met his grandchildren in his latest and last book.
Biggs spent more than four years Down Under after escaping prison and a 30-year sentence for his role in the robbery, which netted him and his 15 accomplices Pound2.6 million.
Great Train Robber, escapee Ronald "Ronnie" Biggs with wife Charmaine in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1981. Source: News Limited
In a one-off media appearance before "retiring from public life", Biggs faced reporters for the launch of his updated autobiography, Odd Man Out.
"My wife, Charmian, and our sons, Chris and Farley, I am truly sorry for everything I put you through. It was not fair, and I know that," Biggs writes to his Australian family in the opening of the new book.
Charmian, wife of British fugitive criminal Great Train Robber Ronald (Ronnie) Biggs with sons Farley and Chris in 1974. Source: News Limited
"I love you all very much and never stopped loving you, despite what I may have given you good reason to think.
"To my 'Australian' grandchildren, who I have never had the chance to meet, I will always regret that I could not be there for you and play the role of doting grandfather. Hopefully I would not have been a bad influence but your grandmother will probably not agree."
Ronnie Biggs, one of the masterminds of Britain's Great Train Robbery in 1963, holding up a poster of himself during promotions for his book "Odd Man Out". Picture: AFP Source: AFP
Due to ill-health in the later part of his life, Biggs, could not speak and communicated through a spelling board.
When asked if he had any regrets, he said: "If you want to ask me if I have any regrets about being one of the train robbers, my answer is, 'No!'
Great Train Robber, Ronald (Ronnie) Biggs. Source: News Limited
"I will go further: I am proud to have been one of them. I am equally happy to be described as the 'tea-boy' or 'The Brain'.
"I was there that August night and that is what counts. I am one of the few witnesses, living or dead, to what was then 'the Crime of the Century'."
Ronnie Biggs, one of Britain's most notorious criminals, marks the release of his autobiography "One Man Out: The Last Straw" in London in 2011. Picture: AP Source: News Limited
Some of Biggs's famous quotes while he was on the run include:
On being a fugitive:
"One report said that since my time on the run I've had 2,500 girlfriends. I mean you got to realise, I've been on the run for more than 30 years, I have got to have had more than that."
On being a criminal:
"There's a difference between criminals and crooks. Crooks steal. Criminals blow some guy's brains out. I'm a crook."
"I am no longer a criminal. I gave up that practice years ago."
On being the brains of the robbery:
"It has been rumoured that I was the brains of the robbery, but that was totally incorrect. I've been described as the tea boy, which is also incorrect."
On growing up:
"I used to have a list of things from my school buddies of what kind of art material they wanted. I'd go up to the West End of London and spend the whole day knocking stuff off."
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